**********************************************************
The Education Bureau (EDB) welcomed the high ratings achieved by Hong Kong students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 announced today (December 4).
"Once again, the achievements of our students go beyond geographical boundary. Their scientific, reading and mathematical literacy ranked in the world's top three. They ranked second in scientific literacy, third in mathematical literacy, and also third in reading literacy," an EDB spokesman said.
"The flying colours were the result of concerted efforts of schools and teachers. It is a great encouragement to stakeholders in the education sector who have been making tireless efforts in carrying through education reform."
A total of 57 countries/regions participated in PISA 2006, conducted under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The international study aims to assess the scientific, mathematical and mother tongue reading literacy of young adults aged 15.
"All along Hong Kong students have been performing well in scientific and mathematical literacy. It is always a big challenge sustaining high standards and our students have risen to that challenge. Furthermore, we take pride in the significant improvement in our students' reading literacy, with Hong Kong's ranking leaping from 10th in PISA 2003 to third in PISA 2006," the spokesman said.
"Just last week another international study - Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 - found that our Primary Four students came second in reading literacy among 45 participating jurisdictions, up from 14th place in 2001. PISA 2006 shows that the efforts put in by all education professionals in promoting reading as a tool for life-long learning are bearing fruit across primary and secondary levels. This is indeed a great encouragement for all who are involved," he added.
The EDB is pleased to note similarly great improvements in both the high and the low achiever groups, and attributes the progress to an enhanced reading climate through school-based programmes, the strategic approach of emphasising "learning to read" among younger students and gradually moving towards "reading to learn" among older students in the curriculum reform, and implementation of the new Chinese language curriculum in 2002.
In scientific literacy, Hong Kong's ranking had progressed from third in PISA 2003 to second in PISA 2006.
In mathematical literacy, the difference in performance among the top four participants in PISA 2006 [Chinese Taipei (549 scores), Finland (548 scores), Hong Kong-China (547 scores), and Korea (547 scores)] is not statistically significant. Hong Kong is still among the best performing countries/regions. Hong Kong, ranked third, has again excelled in mathematical literacy.
The PISA study not only confirms that Hong Kong's education is heading in the right direction, but also shows that relative to other participating countries/regions, their performance is less affected by socio-economic status.
"Thus, Hong Kong is providing a relatively high quality and high equity educational opportunity for all students," the spokesman said.
He added that the bureau would continue its partnership with the education sector, parents and members of the community to sustain the good performance of students.
Background information and key statistics of PISA 2006 are in the annex.
Ends/Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:43
NNNN