International study shows Hong Kong students' overall performance continues to surpass international average
******************************************************************************************
PISA, organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is conducted every three years to assess the mathematical, scientific and mother-tongue reading literacy of 15-year-old students. Hong Kong has participated in PISA in the form of academic research projects. A total of 91 countries or economies participated in PISA 2025 globally. The EDB commissioned the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to conduct the main study in Hong Kong from May to July 2025, which involved 6 445 students aged 15 from 230 secondary schools.
PISA features an innovative domain in each cycle to gauge whether students have acquired the knowledge and skills needed for the future. For PISA 2025, the innovative domain was "Learning in the Digital World", in which Hong Kong students performed exceptionally well, achieving a score of 545, significantly higher than the international average of 500. The OECD's report indicated that Hong Kong was one of the top-performing education systems globally in the innovative domain "Learning in the Digital World", with over 40 per cent of participating students attaining high proficiency levels, capable of undertaking moderate to sophisticated programming and modelling and effectively applying computational logic for analysis.
The EDB spokesman said, "The outstanding performance of Hong Kong students in the innovative domain 'Learning in the Digital World' demonstrates the tangible results achieved through Hong Kong's vigorous promotion of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education. Building on the Blueprint for Digital Education Development in Primary and Secondary Schools announced earlier, the EDB will continue to focus on AI education. Efforts will be directed towards developing curriculum frameworks, supporting teacher training, optimising infrastructure and supporting facilities, as well as promoting cross-sector collaboration to strengthen students' digital literacy and equip the younger generation to meet the opportunities and challenges of the digital era."
The spokesman added, "In terms of education equity, the PISA 2025 results reaffirm that Hong Kong's education system excels in achieving educational equity, consistently ranking among the top three countries or economies with high academic achievements. In addition to establishing a broad and balanced 15-year school curriculum framework, the Government is also committed to providing a diverse range of life-wide learning activities, various programmes to support e-learning, comprehensive learning support for non-Chinese-speaking students, and promoting the Whole School Approach to Integrated Education. These efforts provide all students with high-quality and equal education opportunities, thereby promoting social mobility."
In the three core domains of mathematical, scientific and mother-tongue reading literacy, Hong Kong students' overall performance has consistently surpassed the international average, scoring 522 in mathematical literacy (international average: 463); 496 in scientific literacy (international average: 482); and 480 in mother-tongue reading literacy (international average: 461).
The spokesperson continued, "According to the OECD's report, the impact of COVID-19 on the learning stage of students participating in PISA 2025 during their critical developmental period is one of the factors contributing to the general decline in the overall performance of participating countries or economies. Compared with the results in previous assessment cycles, there is a notable disparity between Hong Kong students' latest scores across these three domains and the observations of the education sector regarding these students' abilities. This phenomenon may be attributable to multiple factors and warrant our in-depth investigation. Among these are Hong Kong's positioning of PISA as an academic research project (distinct from systematic school-based learning assessments or public examinations), Hong Kong students' psychological state and concentration during the test, the test administration arrangements, and students' habits and attitudes towards using digital devices after school, all of which may also have affected their performance in PISA."
Meanwhile, different international studies and assessments are underpinned by unique design concepts and assessment emphases. In recent years, Hong Kong students' overall performance in international assessments has far surpassed the global average. Since 2006, Hong Kong has been ranking among the top three globally for four consecutive cycles in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and ranked second in the latest PIRLS 2021 cycle. Furthermore, Hong Kong has consistently ranked among the top five globally in mathematics in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study since 1995, and has also averaged a top-10 global ranking in science.
The EDB attaches great importance to Hong Kong students' performance in major international assessments and studies. As PISA is one of the reference indicators, the EDB will work closely with the project team from HKU and education stakeholders to carefully review the assessment arrangement and results. The EDB will also conduct analyses across various sub-indicators to gain understanding of students' learning needs, with a view to formulating measures to improve assessment arrangements and enhance students' assessment literacy.
With a view to conducting a more comprehensive review of Hong Kong's performance in major international assessments and studies, the EDB has established an Expert Group on Educational Performance Evaluation, which comprises education experts from universities, school principals, representatives from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and EDB officials, among others. The group will conduct an integrated analysis of international and local assessment data, taking into account the current stage and trends of education development in Hong Kong and formulate recommendations on how to systematically incorporate assessment results into education policies. The EDB will take these recommendations into consideration and continue to work closely with various stakeholders to maintain the strengths of Hong Kong's education system, further enhance the international competitiveness of Hong Kong students and optimise assessment literacy in schools.
Background information and key statistics of PISA 2025 are in the Annex.
Ends/Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:30
Issued at HKT 18:30
NNNN