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The Education Bureau (EDB) is pleased to note that Hong Kong students have performed very well and their achievements continue to be among the best, as revealed in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 announced today (December 3).
PISA is a three-year international study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that assesses the reading, mathematical and scientific literacy in the mother tongue of 15-year-old students.
Among students from the 65 countries/regions participating in the study, Hong Kong 15-year-old students ranked second in both reading and scientific literacy and third in mathematical literacy, demonstrating that their performance in these three areas is among the best at international level.
"The outstanding performance of Hong Kong students in PISA once again validates that Hong Kong education is heading in the right direction. The achievements are the result of the concerted efforts of schools and teachers, as well as the support of various stakeholders in taking forward the education reform," a spokesman for the EDB said.
In reading literacy, Hong Kong's ranking has progressed from fourth in PISA 2009 to second in PISA 2012. The mean score for 15-year-old students in PISA 2012 was 545. This was significantly higher than the mean scores of all previous studies in PISA 2009 (533), PISA 2006 (536), PISA 2003 (510) and PISA 2000+ (525), showing that the performance of students has been improving significantly over the years. The sustained good performance of Hong Kong students in reading is believed to have benefitted from the promotion of "Reading to Learn", one of the four key tasks implemented under the curriculum reform, which assists teachers, including school librarians, to employ appropriate reading strategies and reading activities so as to enhance the reading interest and abilities of their students.
In mathematical literacy, Hong Kong's ranking was maintained as third in both PISA 2009 and PISA 2012. The mean score for 15-year-old students in PISA 2012 was 561. This was higher than the mean score of 2009 (555) and significantly higher than the mean score of PISA 2006 (547). The good performance of Hong Kong students in mathematics is believed to have benefitted from the emphasis to develop mathematics knowledge through project work and exploratory activities. The design of the Mathematics Curriculum enables teachers to provide students with learning opportunities to apply their mathematics knowledge in real-life situations and to nurture their positive attitudes in the learning of mathematics.
In scientific literacy, Hong Kong's ranking has progressed from third in PISA 2009 to second in PISA 2012. The mean score for 15-year-old students in PISA 2012 was 555. This was higher than the mean score of PISA 2009 (549) and significantly higher than the mean scores in PISA 2006 (542), PISA 2003 (539) and PISA 2000+ (541), showing that the performance of students has been improving steadily. The good performance of Hong Kong students in science confirms the appropriateness of the Science Education curriculum which emphasises scientific literacy and generic skills (e.g. critical thinking and problem-solving skills). The curriculum, which has been reviewed and revamped in the curriculum reform, assists teachers to adopt appropriate classroom strategies to enhance students' understanding of science knowledge and development of process skills through scientific investigation, as well as strengthen their understanding of the interconnection of science, technology, society and the environment.
The spokesman said, "The consistently positive results in PISA studies may suggest that the 10-year curriculum reform, which advocates learning to learn, rather than traditional textbook-based teaching, has yielded improved learning outcomes.
"Students' socio-economic status seems to have less effect on their performance as compared with the situation in other participating countries/regions. Generally speaking, students from various socio-economic backgrounds perform equally well in Hong Kong. PISA studies suggest that Hong Kong has done relatively well in providing education opportunity with relatively high quality and high equity for all students. This in turn facilitates social mobility and reaffirms the quality of our education system.
"Moreover, the difference in student performance between schools is getting smaller. This change suggests that the basic education of Hong Kong is heading towards quality education with equality."
The spokesman added, "Making improvements should be a ceaseless endeavour. There is always room for enhancement. Every country and place is also striving to scale new heights. Therefore, though Hong Kong has done well, the last thing that we should do is to rest on our laurels."
Background information and key statistics of PISA 2012 are in the Annex.
Ends/Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:52
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