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International study shows Hong Kong students' creative thinking on par with international standards
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     ​The results on creative thinking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 announced today (June 18) showed that the performance of 15-year-old Hong Kong students was on par with the international average. With reference from the study findings as well as Hong Kong students' performance in other assessments, the Education Bureau (EDB) will continue collaborating with various stakeholders to enhance the international competitiveness of Hong Kong students.
      
     In the cognitive test of the creative thinking assessment of PISA 2022 with a total of 64 participating countries or economies, Hong Kong students achieved a mean score of 32, comparable to the international average of 33. 
      
     An EDB spokesman said, "Hong Kong students displayed better performance in evaluating and improving ideas, and relatively stronger capabilities in social problem solving. On the other hand, their performance in generating diverse and creative ideas as well as visual expression has room for improvement."
      
     PISA 2022 defines creative thinking as the competence to engage productively in the generation, evaluation and improvement of ideas that can result in original and effective solutions, advances in knowledge and impactful expressions of imagination. The study assessed students’ performance in creative thinking through four types of cognitive test contents, namely written expression, visual expression, social problem solving and scientific problem solving.
      
     The spokesman said, "The results of this study once again demonstrated Hong Kong's remarkable performance in terms of education equity, ranking first among countries or economies with high academic achievements. This indicates that family background and socio-economic status have minimal bearing on Hong Kong students’ performance in creative thinking, and highlights that the Hong Kong education system provides all students with high-quality and equal education opportunities.
      
     "The EDB will draw reference from the findings of this study to further nurture students’ creative thinking and other generic skills, laying a solid foundation for their whole person development and lifelong learning," he added.
      
     PISA is organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and conducted every three years, with an aim of assessing the mathematical, scientific and mother tongue reading literacy of 15-year-old students. Findings of the latest cycle (i.e. PISA 2022) were released on December 5, 2023. Announced today were the assessment results in the innovative domain of the same study. Since PISA 2012, the OECD has included a specific innovative domain in each PISA cycle to assess students' 21st century interdisciplinary competences, such as the assessment of collaborative problem solving and global competence in PISA 2015 and 2018 respectively.
      
     Background information on PISA 2022 and key statistics of the creative thinking assessment results are available in the Annex.
 
Ends/Tuesday, June 18, 2024
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