Perfect four: record low number of students get maximum score on Hong Kong secondary school exam
Just four students among 68,128 candidates achieved the full score on the Diploma for Secondary Education exam but more passed
Only four candidates gained a perfect score on the Diploma for Secondary Education (DSE) examination this year, the fewest since the exam started in 2012.
But the number of secondary school graduates who scored at least 2 – the passing score – in each subject has increased, as well as the number of those who met university entrance threshold.
Educators said the low number of perfect scorers could be related to the trend of top students opting for other curriculum such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.
A total of 68,128 school and private candidates sat for the exam in March – about 8 per cent fewer than the total number last year – due to the continuously dropping number of secondary school students, which is attributed to the city’s low birth rate.
Three females and one male student, all school candidates, obtained the highest score of 5** in the four core subjects and three elective subjects, achieving the highest total marks possible.
There were 11 perfect scores from eight schools last year, 12 in 2014, nine in 2013 and five in 2012.
Wong Hak-lim, a maths teacher and vice-principal of Buddhist Ho Nam Kam College in Yau Tong, said more top students might think that choosing other curriculums such as IB, which might be more fun and flexible than DSE, could also lead them into universities.