What HKEAA's benchmarking table says
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) says it conducts regular benchmarking studies that compare performance standards between the HKDSE English Language examination and IELTS. Its benchmarking page gives, for each HKDSE English Language level from Level 3 to Level 5**, an average IELTS overall band and four average section bands. This is the table as read on 24 October 2026:
| HKDSE English Language level | Average IELTS overall band | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 5** | 8.25 | 8.65 | 7.30 | 8.76 | 7.70 |
| Level 5* | 7.89 | 8.32 | 6.91 | 8.58 | 7.03 |
| Level 5 | 7.58 | 7.92 | 6.81 | 8.24 | 6.79 |
| Level 4 | 7.12 | 7.43 | 6.41 | 7.79 | 6.43 |
| Level 3 | 6.29 | 6.53 | 6.01 | 6.87 | 6.03 |
The section columns follow HKEAA's order: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking.
How to read these figures
- They are averages, not a conversion table. The figures come from a pooled sample of HKDSE candidates from 2019, 2023 and 2025 who voluntarily submitted their IELTS results. An average describes a group; it cannot tell you what any one candidate scored, and this page does not use it to predict anyone's band.
- The sample is a group that chose to send in a result. That is our reading of the word voluntarily, not a statement from HKEAA, but it is a reason not to treat the table as a picture of every candidate at a level.
- An average is not a band you can receive. IELTS bands run from 0 to 9 in half-band steps, so a figure such as 7.12 is a group figure, not a result that appears on anyone's report.
- Each figure is its own average. The overall column and the four section columns are separate averages in HKEAA's table, and this page does not combine or recalculate them.
- Check the date. The page carries a "Last update: May 2026" line under the table, but its footer shows an earlier Last Modified Date, so the two do not agree. Because HKEAA says it runs regular benchmarking studies, check its page for the current table before you rely on any number here.
Writing and Speaking sit lower than Reading and Listening at every level
The section columns show a pattern: at every level from Level 3 to Level 5**, the Writing and Speaking averages are lower than the Reading and Listening averages. At Level 4, for example, Reading is 7.43 and Listening 7.79, against 6.41 for Writing and 6.43 for Speaking. At Level 5**, Reading is 8.65 and Listening 8.76, against 7.30 for Writing and 7.70 for Speaking.
The table does not say why. Our own inference, not HKEAA's: if you are planning IELTS practice from an HKDSE result, Writing and Speaking are the two sections where this group's averages were lowest, so they are worth planning time for. In IELTS the two sections work like this:
- Writing takes 60 minutes. Task 1 asks for at least 150 words and Task 2 for at least 250, and Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1. The criteria are equally weighted: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
- Speaking is a live interview of 11 to 14 minutes in three parts. The criteria are equally weighted: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
What HKUST and CUHK say about HKDSE Level 3
Two Hong Kong universities list HKDSE English Level 3 and IELTS Academic 6.0 among the ways undergraduate applicants can meet their English requirement, as read on 24 October 2026:
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Its English language admissions requirement for undergraduate applicants, a PDF that shows no issue date, lists HKDSE English Level 3 and IELTS Academic overall 6.0 among the ways to meet it.
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Its undergraduate admissions requirements page for overseas and other (non-local) qualifications, under its International Students Admissions Scheme, lists HKDSE Level 3 and IELTS (Academic) 6.0, overall band score, among the minimum required scores or grades for some of the more common acceptable examinations. That scheme is for non-local applicants, so this page may not be the rule that applies to your own application: check the route that fits you on CUHK's site.
Two entries in the same list do not make the two routes equal, and nothing on this page says that a Level 3 candidate would score 6.0 in IELTS. Each university sets its own rule, which can differ by programme and can change, and other Hong Kong universities publish rules of their own that this page does not cover. To see how the University of Hong Kong (HKU), CUHK and HKUST compare, read IELTS scores for Hong Kong universities; for the difference between a visa minimum and a university requirement, see IELTS scores for study abroad. No score guarantees an admission outcome.
What a one-to-one IELTS session can and cannot do
Band Booster IELTS is a private tutoring service that offers IELTS coaching and General English. It is not HKEAA or a test centre, and it has no relationship with HKEAA or any university named here.
Mike is a Cambridge CELTA-certified teacher based in Hanoi who scored 8.5 in IELTS Speaking. He teaches every session himself, one-to-one, live on Google Meet and in English. A session can cover Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Writing (Task 1 and Task 2) is marked against the public band descriptors, and Speaking follows the real three-part format, with feedback during the session rather than days later. See IELTS Writing feedback, IELTS Speaking coaching and IELTS Speaking tutor for Hong Kong.
A session cannot turn an HKDSE level into an IELTS band, predict your result from the HKEAA table, or promise a band. Progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
The booking page shows each time in your own time zone and your price in your own currency before you pay, and a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on a first booking. For how the lessons work from Hong Kong, see online IELTS tutor for Hong Kong, and for the teacher, about Mike.
Before you rely on the table
- Open HKEAA's page and compare its current table and date with the figures above.
- Ask the university or programme which IELTS test it accepts and what scores it asks for, and read the rule on its own page. Academic and General Training are different tests.
- Register for IELTS with a test provider, not with Band Booster. Computer-delivered IELTS in Hong Kong sets out what the providers' pages say. IELTS for a UK visa route is a separate matter: see IELTS for UKVI and Life Skills in Hong Kong.
- Once you have your own section scores, the IELTS band score calculator shows how four skill scores become an overall band. It is for your own scores, not for HKEAA's averages.