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Katherine Forestier

Most people involved in education know that not many students will get grade As in a public examination in Hong Kong. In fact, less than  4 per cent of papers will achieve that hallowed mark in Hong Kong Certificate of Secondary Education and A-level exams.
In the UK the situation is  different. In the GCSE last year, 6.4 per cent of entries achieved an A* and 13.1 per cent an A. At GCE A-level, 25.3 per cent achieved grade As.
However, despite that difference,  grading has been treated as comparable, except for maths and science subjects - known to be one grade higher in Hong Kong to reflect harder syllabus content - and languages.
Does this mean  Hong Kong students are less smart than their UK counterparts? The answer is obviously no. The difference is in the exam systems. Many  know that UK  and Hong Kong grades aren't exactly comparable. However, that has often not helped when a Hong Kong student applies to a UK university with a string of respectable Bs, Cs and Ds.
Admission tutors have stuck to exact comparability and, in the most competitive universities, are only impressed by As and Bs.
The British Council surveyed Hong Kong schools and found very few students could be admitted to their chosen UK universities  with their A-levels  because of this discrepancy.
We consulted the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom, (UK Naric), adviser to UK  institutions on international qualifications, which conducted a study of equivalences on the basis of grade distribution.
The  study  found a two-grade difference between  UK and Hong Kong qualifications, when comparing the GCSE and IGCSE with the HKCEE, and GCE A-levels with the HKALE.
This is good news for Hong Kong students because it means their hard work will at last be better recognised.
However, these comparisons are only one reference that admissions tutors will use. It does not mean all will reduce their grade requirements for Hong Kong students in line with the findings - it is up to them how they interpret these results.
Some institutions  already took  these grade differences into account. This has particularly been the case for A-level courses, and they did this based on their  experience of the often excellent achievements of Hong Kong students.
However, this is not the case across the board, particularly among more competitive universities. Their admission tutors will now consider the UK Naric recognition information centre's study results, along with other admission criteria.
We know some have already acted on the study. The University of Edinburgh has reduced its Hong Kong grade requirements by one.
The  study is bound to lead to questions about whether this means grading in Hong Kong is too tough, and in  the UK too lenient.
It is important to understand that for all their historic and continuing links,  UK and Hong Kong exams have developed in very different contexts to meet different needs. They are also constantly evolving.
Some of the issues that could be raised from this study are being addressed, in both Hong Kong and the UK.  Major reforms are under way in both jurisdictions.
Changes to the UK  A-level being introduced this summer - when a new A* will be added to provide finer differentiation among top students - will make this study out of date very soon. And all will change again when students sit the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education in 2012.
Hong Kong's exams are selective for students seeking accreditation to meet entry requirements for sixth form education - with places currently limited to about one-third of the age group - and tertiary education, limited to about 18 per cent for publicly funded first-degree places.
Of course, reforms are changing the  format and context for exams. From 2009, all students entering Secondary Four will be able to complete the HKDSE and post-secondary education opportunities will be widened.
GCE exams are criteria or standards-referenced - like the new English and Chinese HKCEE and the future HKDSE.
Inevitably, as teaching quality improves, one hopes more students will meet higher standards, a fact to celebrate rather than criticise in societies striving to widen access to high levels of learning.
In the UK this has met the needs of an education system that recognises achievement more broadly,  with around 43 per cent of young people going on to university.
However, there are criticisms of the GCEs, which are being addressed with the new A* A-level grade, as well as assessment of key functional skills - literacy, numeracy and IT skills - in GCSEs and A-levels.
New diplomas are also being introduced to bridge the gap between academic, vocational and work-based study.
There is also growing interest in alternatives that stretch the brightest students, such as the Cambridge Pre-U exam, similar to but more flexible than the IB Diploma, being launched this September.
The study should open more opportunities for Hong Kong students to use their qualifications overseas, and for the long term, it has started dialogue between the HKEAA and UK Naric that will ensure a similar exercise for the HKDSE. This will complement work with UCAS and the HKEAA's consultant in the UK.
These collaborations, and the readiness to be honest about differences, will ensure fairer recognition globally for the achievements of Hong Kong students.
Katherine Forestier is director, education services, at the British Council Hong Kong.



Differences in exam grading systems finally being resolved