DSE

DSE Hong Kong Diploma in Secondary Education

The HKDSE grading scale is from Level 1 to Level 5.

5** (5 double star) being the highest level.

Levels below Level 2 are considered as unclassified.

It is an important exam for students to get into university.

There are 4 papers.

Paper 1: Reading (90 minutes)

Paper 2: Writing (120 minutes)

Paper 3: Listening and Integrated Skills (120 minutes)

Paper 4: Speaking (20 minutes, per group)

Paper 1: Reading 📖

There are different types of texts. You need to answer multiple-choice questions, short response questions and longer response questions.

Skills being assessed are: understanding main ideas and details; inferring meaning; understanding vocabulary; identifying the writers’ aims and opinions; and summarising.

The Reading test lasts 90 minutes.

Paper 2: Writing ✍️

There are 2 parts.

Part A:  Short Task. Choose one of 2 tasks. For example, a letter, a speech or a short report. Write 200 words.

Part B: Long Task. Choose one of 8 tasks. For example, a report, a story, an article or an essay.

Write 400 words.

Skills being assessed are: organisation and coherence; tone and style; grammar; vocabulary; and creativity and expression.

The Writing test lasts 120 minutes.

Paper 3: Listening and Integrated Skills 🔊 ✍️

There are 2 parts.

Part A: Listening. Listen to a variety of texts. For example, a talk, a conversation, an announcement, then answer questions.

Part B: Integrated Skills. Listen to a recording, then read related texts. Complete a writing task based on the information provided. For example, an article, a report or a letter.

Skills being assessed are: listening comprehension; finding information and summarising; integrating information from different sources; and writing skills.

The Listening and Integrated Skills test lasts 120 minutes.

Paper 4: Speaking 💬

There are 2 parts.

Part A: Group Discussion. Students are given 2 minutes to prepare a discussion topic. They then discuss the topic for about 8 minutes.

Part B: Individual Response. After the group discussion, each student is asked a question relating to the topic.

Skills being assessed are: Oral communication and fluency; interaction and discussion skills; ability to express ideas and opinions clearly; and use of appropriate language and vocabulary.

The Speaking test lasts 20 minutes.