Hong Kong secondary school pupils’ performance falls in global Pisa study on reading and maths competency, with pandemic blamed for general decline

Hong Kong secondary school students’ performance has fallen in a global study on reading and maths competency, in line with peers elsewhere as a result of the pandemic, according to researchers.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) found that Hong Kong pupils had dropped out of the top 10 to 11th place for mother-tongue literacy, their worst performance since the study, held every three years, began in 2000. The results were announced on Tuesday afternoon.

But among the 15-year-olds polled worldwide in a related study, Hong Kong ranked second in terms of effectiveness in digital learning and educational equity, with researchers noting the performance of students living in public housing estates and Mid-Levels, an upmarket area, was similar.

Hong Kong remained fourth out of 81 economies for maths in the Pisa study behind Singapore, Macau and Taiwan, despite its overall score dropping to 540, down 11 points from 2018, when the last assessment was conducted before it was suspended because of the pandemic.

Local pupils climbed two spots to seventh place internationally for science, scoring 520 points, compared with 517 in 2018.

The Education Bureau said the Pisa study showed Hong Kong students’ steady performance with overall scores continuously surpassing the international average, and commended the results despite challenges brought by the pandemic.

Singapore topped the rankings for all three subjects, with Macau, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in the top 10.