bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

1937 The colonial government starts  operating the Hong Kong School Certificate Examination (school cert)
1940 The last school cert held before the war
1941-1945 All public exams suspended with the fall of Hong Kong to the Japanese  
1946 The first public exam is held after the war with 27 subjects on offer
1950 The government reduces the number of compulsory subjects to just one (English) and Chinese is no longer a compulsory subject
1950 The government adds a new subject, Chinese literature and history, and also practical sessions involving laboratory work for science subjects in the exams
1952 Chinese-medium schools  allowed to field candidates and the Hong Kong Chinese School Certificate Examination is first conducted
1961 Hong Kong School Certificate Examination (school cert) is renamed Hong Kong English School Certificate Examination
1968 Hong Kong English School Certificate Examination and Hong Kong Chinese School Certificate Examination are renamed Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (English) and Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (Chinese)
1968 Four grades - pass with distinction, pass with credit, pass and fail - are abolished and replaced with grades A to H
1974 The two exams - Chinese and English - are combined and renamed the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE)
1977 Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority set up
1978 First HKCEE organised by the exam authority
1985 The cancelled G and H grades are  replaced by a new category - U (unclassified)
1988 Candidates can, for the first time, sit 10 subjects
2007 New assessment grades are introduced for Chinese and English. Standard Referenced Reporting, which describes a candidate's performance from Levels 1 to 5, is used
2007 New computer systems for online marking are introduced for Chinese Language and English Language
2007 Centralised onscreen marking centres begin operation across Hong Kong
2010 The last HKCEE is held



How Hong Kong's public exam system evolved for secondary school pupils