Singapore, China top global student assessment as OECD scores hit record low

Key facts

• Singapore and mainland China students scored highest in the OECD's PISA assessment.
• The PISA 2022 results showed a decline in average scores across OECD countries.
• Reading, math, and science scores have fallen since the last assessment in 2018.
• The decline in scores is the first significant drop recorded in the PISA's 20-year history.
• The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on education is cited as a contributing factor to the score decline.

Singapore and mainland China have emerged as the top performers in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The PISA 2022 results, released Tuesday, revealed that students in these regions excelled in mathematics, science, and reading.

However, the report also highlighted a concerning trend of declining performance across most participating countries. The average scores in mathematics, science, and reading have fallen since the previous assessment in 2018, marking the first significant drop in the PISA's 20-year history. The OECD attributes this decline, in part, to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted educational systems worldwide.

Students in Singapore achieved an average score of 575 in mathematics, 542 in science, and 537 in reading. For mainland China, the average scores were 529 in mathematics, 523 in science, and 514 in reading. These figures place both regions at the forefront of global educational achievement, according to the PISA metrics.