What each SSPA internal assessment covers: Chinese, English, Maths, General Studies, Visual Arts, Music and PE

What this page answers

Many parents search for “SSPA visual arts exam content”, “SSPA Chinese composition titles” or “SSPA syllabus”, hoping for one territory-wide list. There is none. The SSPA internal assessment (呈分試) has no common paper: for almost every subject, the format and scope are set by the school and not published by the Education Bureau. This page says so first, then sets out what the Bureau has published: what schools must tell parents, and how PE is assessed.

Two cohorts are affected. Primary 6 in 2026/27 is in the 2025/2027 cycle and is still scored on the current subjects: Chinese, English, Mathematics, General Studies, Visual Arts and Music. Primary 5 in 2026/27 is the first 88844222 cohort: from the second term, General Studies becomes Humanities and Science, and PE is added. Weights and arithmetic are onthe subject-weights pageand are not repeated here.

What the Education Bureau requires schools to publish

Education Bureau Circular Memorandum 228/2024 treats internal assessment as a school-based professional arrangement. Schools must set learning objectives, assessment scope, emphases, format and marking criteria for each subject, apply them consistently to all students, and notify parents and students of the policy and arrangements in good time. The duty to publish is the school’s, and parents are entitled to the information. What is published, however, is each school’s decision: the Bureau sets no common paper format.

So to find out what a subject covers, read your school’s circular or assessment policy, not another school’s paper. Wherever the Bureau has published nothing, this page says “school-based arrangement: follow the school circular” and suggests asking the class teacher for it.

Subject by subject

The table lists only what the Bureau states publicly. What is absent from it has not been published.

Putonghua and Religious Studies are optional and scored only if the school decides, with weights of 1 and 2. The Bureau has not published paper formats for them either.

PE: F.A.S.K. and the four fitness tests

PE is the only subject whose assessment method the Bureau describes publicly, inits PE internal-assessment Q&Aand in Circular 228/2024. There are four elements, abbreviated F.A.S.K.: Fitness, Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge. Fitness and skills are the main elements.

Fitness is measured by four tests: the endurance run, sit-and-reach, one-minute sit-ups, and either handgrip strength or inclined pull-ups. Results are compared with the Hong Kong primary norms of the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme, by sex and age. The standard is health-related, not an athlete’s standard.

Skills are items taught in PE lessons, such as athletics, ball games, dance and basic gymnastics. Schools should give students learning experiences in at least eight different activities across the four activity categories. Knowledge need not be a written test: the Q&A lists worksheets, e-assessment, learning logs and group work. Attitude evidence can come from class observation, the habit of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a day, and following instructions.

Medals from outside sports or training classes are not the main driver of the score. What counts is the work done in PE lessons; results outside school do not replace it.

The Bureau sets no common split between the four elements. Circular 228/2024 gives “School A” as a worked example only: fitness 40%, skills 40%, attitude 10%, knowledge 10%. That is an illustration in the circular, not a rule, and other schools may divide the marks differently.

For students with special educational needs, schools may use special assessment arrangements or discretionary or exempted scoring, with professional identification and parental consent. Ask the School Places Allocation Section how adjusted PE scores are submitted. Under the new scheme, for students certified as exempt from PE on health grounds, the base falls from 38 to 36 and the other weights are unchanged.

Humanities and Science

Since 2025/26 the primary curriculum has been replacing General Studies with Humanities and Science, starting at Primary 1 and Primary 4 and moving up year by year to Primary 6. The two subjects enter the internal assessment from the second term of Primary 5 in 2026/27, that is, for the first 88844222 cohort. Primary 6 in 2026/27 still sits General Studies and is not affected.

The Bureau has not yet published assessment formats, scope or question types for these two subjects. It is a school-based arrangement: follow the school circular, and if none has arrived, ask the class teacher in the first term of Primary 5.

Writing and speaking: what can be used as a reference

This section is general guidance, not an Education Bureau rule. Composition, reading and speaking tasks in the internal assessment are set and marked by each school; there is no territory-wide question bank. A parent who wants a sense of the level expected in writing and speaking can look at the public material from the HKEAA’s Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA).

TSA is a different assessment and not the SSPA internal assessment. In the 2025 Primary 6 Chinese paper, for example, the two short-composition titles were “recount a trip and your feelings about it” and “explain the benefits of reading extra-curricular books”, as listed in theHKEAA 2025 report. They show two genres that TSA uses, recount and explanation. The tasks your child meets at school may be quite different. For legitimate free material, see thefree practice-paper directory.

Are papers returned, and can they be inspected?

School internal papers are works written by the school. The Bureau’s copyright guidelines list exercises, tests and examination papers among works not licensed for copying, so school papers are protected by copyright and should not be scanned, uploaded or resold.

This section is general guidance, not an Education Bureau rule. The Bureau has not published a territory-wide right for parents to take papers home or inspect them. Whether papers are returned or can be viewed at school is school policy. If you have a question about a mark, ask in writing, after reading the school circular on inspection. Say which subject and which test you mean; even where papers are not returned, you can still ask to understand the marking criteria.

Common misunderstandings

“The Education Bureau sets the SSPA internal paper.” It does not. The Bureau only requires schools to set and publish their arrangements; each school writes its own papers and there is no territory-wide paper.

“The PE score depends on sports medals.” It does not. The Bureau says medals and training-class medals are not the main driver; fitness and skills are the main elements.

“Visual Arts has a standard exam format.” It has none that the Bureau has published. It is a school-based arrangement: follow the school circular.

“Parents have a legal right to take the papers home.” No territory-wide rule says so. Return of papers is school policy, and the papers are protected by copyright.

“TSA writing topics are SSPA topics.” They are not. TSA is run by the HKEAA and the internal assessment is set by schools, so their topics are not linked.

Next steps

For the weights and how they combine, seethe subject-weights page. To try your own scores, use theSSPA calculator. If your child is in Primary 5, seethe Primary 5 88844222 guidefor what the new scheme means across the cycle.

FAQ