The Leaning Tower of PISA

 

The latest dismal performance of the country’s 15-year-olds in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results, released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently, reinforces this concern. 

The Pisa results show that the performance of Malaysia’s 15-year-olds has not improved and, in some areas, has regressed. Average scores in 2025 were lower than in 2022 for mathematics, while remaining broadly similar for reading and science – helped only by a decline in the overall OECD average. This is particularly concerning given the weak baseline in 2022, when scores in all three areas of assessment – mathematics, reading and science – fell below the global average, marking one of the most significant declines globally. Compared with 2018, student performance has deteriorated across all three areas.

 

Source:https://www.wikiimpact.com 

There is a tendency, rightly or wrongly, to draw comparisons between the number of students achieving “A” grades in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Pisa outcomes. However, the two are not directly comparable. The SPM is a comprehensive national examination covering all 17-year-olds, whereas Pisa assesses a randomly selected sample of 15-year-olds. 

Those Malaysians who were in secondary school in the 1970s to the 1990s will point to what they perceive as grade inflation in the SPM examination. They may recall that it was much harder to score “A” grades then, with outstanding results typically comprising five to seven As – and only a small number of students achieving them. Today, such top scorers’ number in the thousands. 

In 2025, a total of 13,779 candidates, or 3.55% of SPM candidates, obtained “A” grades in all subjects, slightly lower than in 2024. Interestingly, the national average grade also improved to 4.42 last year from 4.49 in 2024 (the lower the score, the better the performance), while 94.3% of candidates qualified for certification. This has led many to question the apparent disconnect between SPM results and Pisa outcomes, as well as the broader quality of the education system, including at the tertiary level. 

Concerns have been raised about graduates’ proficiency in English, critical thinking abilities and overall aptitude. More worrying is the rise in the proportion of low-performing students.

According to the OECD, the share of students scoring below minimum proficiency levels has increased by 24 percentage points in mathematics, and by 10 percentage points each in reading and science. Overall, Malaysian students continue to score below the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science. In computational problem-solving, their mean score also falls short of the OECD average. Drilling down further, the scores tell a woeful tale, with Malaysian students’ proficiency continuing to lag behind the OECD average. 

Pisa measures performance across six proficiency levels, with higher levels indicating stronger mastery. Top performers are those in levels 5 and 6. Only 54% of Malaysian students attained level 2 or higher in science, compared with the OECD average of 74%. Just 0.5% reached levels 5 or 6, far below the OECD average of 7%. So, it can be assumed that the young scientists at the recent science challenge final represent this small top tier. The gap is even wider in mathematics. Only 35% of Malaysian students reached at least level 2 proficiency, compared with 65% across the OECD. A mere 0.6% were top performers, versus 8% for the OECD. 

Regionally, Malaysia also trails significantly in producing top performers. China bags the top spot with 54%, followed by Singapore (37%), Taiwan (32%), Macao (29%), South Korea (23%), Japan (22%) and Hong Kong (21%). 

Reading outcomes tell a similar story. Only 44% of Malaysian students achieved level 2 or higher, compared with the OECD average of 69%, while almost no students reached level 5 or above, against an OECD average of 6%. Many students still face difficulties with reading comprehension – the very foundation of all learning. 

Greater accountability for education spending is, therefore, essential. More importantly, it is time to question whether the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 remains fit for purpose, or whether a return to fundamentals is needed – starting with the 3Rs of education (reading, writing and arithmetic). And hopefully we have a new, dynamic and pragmatic Minister of Education. 

Reference:

Malaysia’s learning curve is bending down, Fintan Ng, The Star, 12 Sep 2026