Abstract

Developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a regular survey to assess the preparedness of 15-year-olds for adult life in over 40 countries/regions. Hong Kong joined PISA in 2000. This article introduces the background and framework of PISA and compares it with other international assessments that Hong Kong participated before. Then the accomplishment and challenges are identified.

Overall, Hong Kong emerges as one of the top performing regions among 43 countries/regions in PISA. The performance of Hong Kong students ranks first in mathematics, third in science, and sixth in reading. Students, regardless of their socio-economic background, benefit from the education system. The achievement gap between the high achievers and low achievers is relatively low when compared to the OECD average. On the other hand, Hong Kong needs to address a number of challenges, including low self-concept, poor school climate, and low teacher participation in school governance. Implications for these accomplishment and challenges will be discussed.

Abstract

In the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2000 study, Finnish students showed significantly higher reading achievement than students of any other country/region. Finland also ranked among the best five countries in mathematical and scientific literacy. In Finland, the gap between high and low performers was relatively narrow, and the variation between schools was the second smallest among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries/regions. The Finnish comprehensive school seems to be quite successful in reaching both high quality and equity at the same time. There is not a single explanation for the results. Rather, the outstanding performance of Finnish students is attributable to a web of interrelated factors, including comprehensive pedagogy, students’ own interests and leisure activities, the structure of the education system, teacher training, school practices, and the Finnish culture. This article will illustrate how these factors may have contributed to Finland’s performance by analyzing the results of PISA and highlighting some characteristics of the Finnish education system and cultural heritage.

Abstract

This article presents the reading performance of Hong Kong’s 15-year-old students taking part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2002. The objectives, design, and assessment instruments of PISA are first delineated and the assessment results will then be presented. Contrary to the general impression that the language ability of Hong Kong students in general is declining, it was found that the reading performance of Hong Kong students in PISA was far better than those of other participating countries. Further details on students’ literacy performance will also be reported when referring to the specific aspects of reading literacy like text types and reading tasks. Initial interpretations on the results will be provided with specific relevance to the existing language curriculum, so as to suggest how the curriculum could be improved in the future.

Abstract

This article reports the performance of 15-year-old Hong Kong students in mathematical literacy in an international study called PISA 2000, in which Hong Kong has topped the list of 41 participating countries/regions, with a mean score significantly higher than all other countries except Japan and Korea. With the conceptual framework developed by PISA for the assessment of mathematical literacy, this survey on students’ mathematics achievement is rather different from other international studies in that it focuses on students’ competencies in applying knowledge and skills to understanding and solving problems and to making informed judgments and decisions in real-life situations. As PISA 2000 did not collect data related directly to classroom teaching and therefore could not provide an explanatory framework, it is speculated that the exceptionally good performance of Hong Kong students in PISA mathematical tasks may be attributed to their strengths in the basics of algebraic and geometric manipulations, as evidenced in previous international comparative studies. This article begins with a brief introduction to the rationale and general design of PISA and a detailed delineation of the conceptual framework of mathematical literacy. The overall performance of Hong Kong students, including gender differences, relative to the international mean performance will be outlined and analyzed in terms of different attributes of the PISA framework for mathematics. The final section discusses these PISA findings and derives some general implications for mathematics education in Hong Kong.

Abstract

This article presents key features of the mathematics assessment in OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), from the point of view of the design of test items to fit in with the PISA mathematics framework. A brief description is first given to provide some background to the development of the PISA mathematics framework. The “spirit” of PISA mathematics is then captured through illustrative examples of items to highlight the differences between traditional mathematics assessments and PISA assessment. Some empirical data are presented to provide support for the claims of differences between PISA and other assessments. The PISA results for Hong Kong are also examined to highlight strengths and weaknesses of Hong Kong students. The main message that this article conveys is that PISA has taken a bold step in an international comparative study to link mathematics to the real world.

Abstract

The general performance of Hong Kong students in scientific literacy in PISA 2000 has been reported in a previous article. With reference to the released items, this article focuses on a more elaborate analysis of Hong Kong’s performance in comparison with that of OECD countries. Hong Kong students were relatively good in “using scientific knowledge” and “drawing conclusions,” satisfactory in “evaluating evidence” and “communicating explanations and conclusions,” but rather weak in “recognizing scientific questions.” These results suggest that Hong Kong students possess adequate scientific knowledge and are able to apply it in everyday life contexts, but lack a good understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. To account for the relatively poor performance of Hong Kong students on certain items, it is proposed that these items made a high demand on reading skills while the students were used to follow detailed laboratory instruction and had little opportunities to develop their reading and communication skills in science lessons.

Abstract

How can we help all children learn what they need to know to prepare for the future? In every country/region that is participating in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a study of the literacy skills of 15-year-old youth, there is a huge gap between the best and worst performing students. This shows the need for parents, educators, administrators, and policy-makers to direct their efforts toward leveling the playing field. This article examines variation among countries/regions and schools in their reading performance, with particular attention to the remarkable success of students in Hong Kong. It also suggests ways to narrow the gap and raise the learning bar for all.