What this page answers
This page explains when the three SSPA internal-assessment submissions fall, how subject weights turn marks into a weighted composite, and which year-group uses 999632 or 88844222. It follows the Education Bureau’s published reform of internal-assessment weights and the 2025/2027 parent briefing. Primary 6 this year is still on the current weights; Primary 5 is the first cohort under the reform.
The Bureau has not published a relative weight among the three submissions, and it has not set out how a school turns its own tests into the marks it submits. This page only shows the relative effect of “subject mark × weight ÷ base”. What the computer uses to cut banding is the standardised, school-adjusted score. The Pre-S1 HKAT itself does not directly affect the sitting student’s own allocation.
When the three submissions take place
Schools submit internal-assessment marks for three named terms. There is no territory-wide internal-assessment paper. The three names and terms are below; exact exam dates and how each term mark is composed are set by the school.
| Name | Term and note |
|---|---|
| First submission (呈一) | Primary 5 second term. Schools submit that term’s internal-assessment marks; there is no territory-wide paper. |
| Second submission (呈二) | Primary 6 first term. Again internal marks only; no territory-wide paper. |
| Third submission (呈三) | Primary 6 second term. All three results then enter standardisation and adjustment. |
The Bureau states that Primary 5 second-term and Primary 6 first- and second-term internal results are submitted, then standardised and adjusted. It has not published any public ratio that makes one submission count more than another.
Subject weights
The current scheme is abbreviated 999632, on a base of 38: Chinese 9, English 9, Mathematics 9, General Studies 6, Visual Arts 3, Music 2. The 2025/2027 cycle (Primary 6 in 2026/27) is still scored this way. Schools may optionally include Religious Education (weight 2) and/or Putonghua (weight 1).
| Subject | Weight | Share of base 38 |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 9 | 23.68% |
| English | 9 | 23.68% |
| Mathematics | 9 | 23.68% |
| General Studies | 6 | 15.79% |
| Visual Arts | 3 | 7.89% |
| Music | 2 | 5.26% |
The reform scheme is abbreviated 88844222, still on a base of 38: Chinese 8, English 8, Mathematics 8, Humanities 4, Science 4, Visual Arts 2, Music 2, PE 2. Optional Religious Education (2) and Putonghua (1) are unchanged. General Studies is replaced by Humanities and Science; the reform weights follow those subjects.
| Subject | Weight | Share of base 38 |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 8 | 21.05% |
| English | 8 | 21.05% |
| Mathematics | 8 | 21.05% |
| Humanities | 4 | 10.53% |
| Science | 4 | 10.53% |
| Visual Arts | 2 | 5.26% |
| Music | 2 | 5.26% |
| PE | 2 | 5.26% |
Each of Chinese, English and Mathematics moves from 9/38 = 23.68% to 8/38 = 21.05%. General Studies is 6/38 = 15.79%; under the reform, Humanities plus Science total 8/38 = 21.05%, so dropping General Studies does not remove that block of the score. Visual Arts moves from 3/38 = 7.89% to 2/38 = 5.26%. Music stays at 2/38 = 5.26%. PE appears for the first time at 2/38 = 5.26%. Students exempted from PE on certified health grounds drop the PE weight and the base falls from 38 to 36; the other weights are unchanged.
How weights become a composite
Weights are relative: a subject’s weight divided by 38 is its share of the composite. A worked illustration under 999632 uses Chinese 80, English 70, Mathematics 90, General Studies 75, Visual Arts 85, Music 60.
(80×9 + 70×9 + 90×9 + 75×6 + 85×3 + 60×2) ÷ 38 = (720 + 630 + 810 + 450 + 255 + 120) ÷ 38 = 2985 ÷ 38 = 78.55.
The same Chinese, English, Mathematics, Visual Arts and Music marks under 88844222, with Humanities 75, Science 75 and PE 70 in place of General Studies:
(80×8 + 70×8 + 90×8 + 75×4 + 75×4 + 85×2 + 60×2 + 70×2) ÷ 38 = (640 + 560 + 720 + 300 + 300 + 170 + 120 + 140) ÷ 38 = 2950 ÷ 38 = 77.63.
Who uses which scheme
| Year-group (2026/27) | Weights |
|---|---|
| Primary 6 in 2026/27 | 2025/2027 cycle; Secondary 1 entry September 2027; still scored 999632, with General Studies at weight 6. |
| Primary 5 in 2026/27 | First 88844222 cohort; first submission in that school year’s second term; 2026/2028 cycle, Secondary 1 entry September 2028; General Studies replaced by Humanities and Science. |
88844222 takes effect from the Primary 5 second term of the 2026/27 school year, so the cohort entering Primary 5 in September 2026 is the first scored under the reform. Their first submission falls in that school year’s second term; the second and third fall in the two Primary 6 terms that follow.
For banding, the computer first standardises each student’s three internal terms, then adjusts them by the average of the school’s two most recent Pre-S1 HKAT samples. For the 2025/2027 cycle those samples are 2024 and 2026. Territory bands split all adjusted scores into three equal thirds and are used for Central Allocation Part A (unrestricted by net); net bands do the same within each of the 18 secondary-school nets and are used for Part B (by net).
Bands are computed only when the allocation programme runs, after the final participant counts are fixed. Individual bands are never released to parents. For a cross-net student, the band in the new net is decided by comparing adjusted marks with students in that net; the territory band is unchanged.
How parents can use these numbers
The published weights show where the same mark change moves the composite most: Chinese, English and Mathematics shift it more than Music or PE. Under the reform, Humanities plus Science total 21.05%, close to one core subject, so those marks also move the composite clearly. Enter a set of school subject marks in theSSPA calculatorto see how the weighted percentage moves; the calculator outputs a weighted percentage, not a band. Parents of Primary 5 in 2026/27 can also readP5 and 88844222for the side-by-side subject list.
Common misunderstandings
“The third submission counts most.” The Bureau has not published a relative weight among the three submissions, and it has not said that any one counts more.
“The cohort entering Primary 5 in 2026 still has General Studies counted.” It does not. That cohort is scored 88844222, with Humanities and Science in place of General Studies. General Studies still applies to Primary 6 in the same school year (999632).
“Raw internal marks can be compared across schools.” They cannot. The computer standardises first, then adjusts by each primary’s Pre-S1 HKAT samples. Raw marks are not the basis for cross-school ranking.
“A school can tell you your exact band from internal rank.” The Bureau states that, even using past cohort profiles plus a student’s internal marks or rank, a school cannot precisely predict an individual’s band, and the actual band may differ from predictions.
“PE-exempt students are always disadvantaged.” Under the new scheme the base becomes 36 instead of 38, and the other weights stay unchanged. That is a change of base, not the removal of a subject while the base stays 38.
Next steps
To weight school marks under the published schemes, see theSSPA calculator. For how standardisation, school adjustment and banding estimates work, see thebanding estimator. For why no exact Band is computable, seeWhy no exact Band is computable.
FAQ
Which submission counts more: the first, second or third?
The Education Bureau has not published a relative weight among the three submissions, and it has not said that any one counts more. It states that Primary 5 second-term and Primary 6 first- and second-term internal results are submitted, then standardised and adjusted. The same documents do not set out how a school turns its own tests into the marks it submits.
Does Primary 6 in 2026/27 still use 999632?
Yes. That cohort is in the 2025/2027 cycle, enters Secondary 1 in September 2027, and is still scored 999632, with General Studies at weight 6. The first 88844222 cohort is the children who enter Primary 5 in September 2026; their first submission falls in that school year’s second term. Their cycle is 2026/2028, with Secondary 1 entry in September 2028, and General Studies is replaced by Humanities and Science.
Is 78.55 in the illustration an allocation score?
No. 78.55 comes from one set of subject marks: Chinese 80, English 70, Mathematics 90, General Studies 75, Visual Arts 85, Music 60, multiplied by the 999632 weights and divided by 38. It is an illustration, not the EDB method. The real process standardises first, then adjusts by the average of the school’s two most recent Pre-S1 HKAT samples; for the 2025/2027 cycle those samples are 2024 and 2026. A raw average is never what the computer ranks.
Can a school read an exact band off internal marks or rank?
It cannot do so precisely. The Bureau states that, even using past cohort profiles plus a student’s internal marks or rank, a school cannot precisely predict an individual’s band, and the actual band may differ from school or parent predictions. Bands are computed only when the allocation programme runs, after the final participant counts are fixed. Individual bands are never released to parents.
What base applies if PE is exempted?
Under 88844222, a student exempted from PE on certified health grounds is scored on a base of 36 instead of 38, and the other weights stay unchanged. The current 999632 subject list has no PE weight, so this base change belongs to the new scheme. The exemption is a change of base, not the removal of a subject while the base stays 38.
Must Religious Education and Putonghua be included?
Not necessarily. Whether they are included is the school’s decision. Religious Education has weight 2 and Putonghua has weight 1, and that is unchanged under the reform. The base of 38 in 999632 and 88844222 is the sum of the subjects named in those schemes; these two are listed separately.