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 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. AS-level was commonly known as Hong Kong Advanced Supplementary Level Examination (HKASLE). 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 vigour. 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. Results below grade F are designated as unclassified (UNCL). The abolishment of fine grades used in 2001 (i.e. A(01), A(02), B(03), B(04), etc.) was in force from 2002. Some subjects which demand substantial memorisation and clarification of difficult concepts, such as Chinese History, Biology and Economics, have their syllabus partly equivalent to first-year undergraduate courses in terms of the length and depth on the syllabuses. With the introduction of the Early Admissions Scheme in 2001, top scorers in HKCEE could skip the HKALE and enter universities directly after Form 6. Therefore, the HKALE in 2002 was the last one which all HKCEE top scorers needed to take for university admission in Hong Kong. As a part of the educational reform in Hong Kong, the examination was abolished after academic year 2012/2013. The final HKALE in 2013 was only offered to private candidates who had taken the HKALE before, and the exam results could not be used to apply for universities through the JUPAS as before, but only through the Non-JUPAS system. (en)
香港高級程度會考（英語：Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination，縮寫為HKALE，慣稱A-Level、AL及高考）是一個在香港已於2014年停辦的考試，最初由香港大學主辦，自1980年香港考試局接手舉辦。至2013年為止的34年間，約90萬人次曾報考高考。 過往中學生通常在中學會考符合升讀預科要求並修畢兩年制的中六及中七預科課程後參加本考試，為香港中學教育舊有制度之中的最後一個階段。 (zh)