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The Secretary for Education and Manpower, Professor Arthur K C Li, welcomed the findings released in an authoritative international study today (July 1) that Hong Kong students came first in mathematics, third in science and sixth in reading literacy.
The findings were revealed by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) participated by 43 countries/territories, including countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
"I am delighted with the outcome. The tests focus not on memorisation, but on the application of knowledge and skills in different contexts. This means that our education system is doing well above average international standards in preparing our students to meet the challenges of the fast-changing knowledge society," Professor Li said.
"I also wish to take this opportunity to commend our schools and frontline educators. They have done a good job not only in helping our students go far and high, but also in promoting equality of access to quality education."
Detailed analysis of the PISA reading literacy study shows that Hong Kong is among those which can secure student performance above the OECD average but with an impact of family background on student performance lower than the OECD average. "Through education, we have promoted social mobility and social stability alongside students' ability. Quality and equality need not be necessary trade-off," Professor Li commented.
"The PISA study also vindicates the direction of our reform initiatives. Good reading habits, self-learning ability, parent education and school effectiveness are key determinants of performance. All these are what we are working on now," Professor Li said, "We are doing above average but that's not good enough for Hong Kong. We can do even better. I look forward to continued partnership with the education sector and the whole community to further raise the quality of Hong Kong's education."
The study seeks to measure how well 15-year old students are performing when they approach the end of compulsory education. The Hong Kong research team consists of experts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and is headed by Professor Esther Ho of the Faculty of Education.
Tests and background questionnaires are administered to a large representative sample of students in each of the 43 participants. Apart from OECD countries such as Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, there are also non-OECD Asian participants like Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand.
The findings, based on a study conducted in 2000-2002, provide important information on factors influencing students' performance, including family background, school characteristics, learning habits, etc.
Details of the study are available on http://www.oecd.org.
End/Tuesday, July 1, 2003
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