Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination
former school qualification in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE, 香港高級程度會考), or more commonly known as the A-level, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), was taken by senior students at the end of their matriculation in Hong Kong between 1979 and 2012. It was originally the entrance examination in University of Hong Kong until the introduction of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) in 1992, which made it the major university entrance examination for all local universities until academic year 2011/2012.
The examination was conducted from March to May, and the results were routinely released in the first week of July (or late June). There were altogether 17 A-level and 17 AS-level subjects in the HKALE (2007 – 2012). AS-level was commonly known as Hong Kong Advanced Supplementary Level Examination (HKASLE), which was first held in 1994. AS-level subjects were taught within half the number of periods compared to that required for A-level subjects, but they demanded the same level of intellectual rigour. Most day school candidates took four or five subjects in the HKALE. Apart from Chinese Language and Culture and Use of English which were taken by almost every school candidate, and other language-related subjects, all subjects could be taken in either English or Chinese. The same standards were applied in both marking and grading; the instruction medium is not recorded on the results notices nor certificates. The examination of an A-level subject generally consists of two 3-hour papers taken in the morning and afternoon of the same day.
The results of the HKALE are expressed in terms of six grades A – F, of which grade A is the highest and F the lowest.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination” is former school qualification in Hong Kong. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hong, Kong and Advanced, not as a finished interpretation.
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