Hong Kong grading system
In Hong Kong, university grades run from A+ (best) to F, and D is the lowest pass. HKDSE levels: 5** to U, lowest pass 1.
Example · Credit-weighted average of 3 courses
Between A and A+
Excellent either way: your institution’s rule on rounding decides which grade goes on your record. D is the lowest pass.
3 courses, 15 credits.
University grades: A+ to F
Bachelor's and master's courses at Hong Kong universities. Some universities have no A+ or give it 4.00, and some leave out the minus grades, so the transcript legend decides.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | excellent | Pass |
| A | excellent | Pass |
| A− | excellent | Pass |
| B+ | good | Pass |
| B | good | Pass |
| B− | good | Pass |
| C+ | adequate | Pass |
| C | adequate | Pass |
| C− | adequate | Pass |
| D+ | marginal pass | Pass |
| D | marginal pass | Pass |
| F | fail | Fail |
HKDSE levels: 5** to U
The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education exam at the end of secondary school. Level 1 is the lowest level awarded; results below it are unclassified (U) and do not appear on the certificate.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| 5** | top group of level 5 | Pass |
| 5* | next group of level 5 | Pass |
| 5 | level 5, the highest level | Pass |
| 4 | level 4 | Pass |
| 3 | level 3 | Pass |
| 2 | level 2 | Pass |
| 1 | level 1, the lowest level awarded | Pass |
| U | unclassified | Fail |
Hong Kong grades and a US GPA
This page gives no US equivalents for Hong Kong grades: we found no table for them on Wikipedia or from an official source, and we do not make one up. A US university reads a foreign transcript itself or through the credential evaluation service it names, and its conversion is the one that counts.
Send your grades as they are, with the scale above. When a form asks for your average, give it on your own scale and say which scale it is: the converter’s average does exactly that, weighted by credits when you enter them.
What to know about grades in Hong Kong
- With A+ at 4.30 the highest possible GPA is 4.30, but at universities without A+, or where A+ counts 4.00, the maximum is 4.00.
- Some universities drop the minus grades and give 4.5, 3.5, 2.5 and 1.5 to A+, B+, C+ and D+.
- In the HKDSE, about the top 10% of level 5 candidates receive 5** and the next 30% receive 5*.
- Applied Learning subjects in the HKDSE are reported as Attained or Attained with Distinction rather than in levels.
- The HKDSE replaced the HKCEE and the Hong Kong A-level (HKALE), which was last held in 2013.
Sources: Wikipedia, Academic grading in Hong Kong.