PETALING JAYA: The latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) across the Asean region saw Malaysia with the biggest drop compared to Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Malaysians students also fared poorly in reading.
Globally, Pisa 2022 scores fell as nations scrambled to cope with online lessons and the loss of learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the overall scores of Indonesia and Thailand decreased by 4.09% and 4.36% respectively, Malaysia dropped 6.26% from 431 in 2018 to 404 in 2022.
Singapore held on to the region’s top spot with Brunei charting the sharpest spike from 423 to 439 (3.78%).
Although the Philippines and Cambodia were at the bottom of the scoresheet, both nations saw an increase across all three domains assessed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – reading, science and mathematics.
The Pisa results released last month noted that the biggest factor in the drop in marks across the globe is the learning loss caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures.
Pisa is administered by the OECD every three years on 15-year-olds in both OECD and non-OECD countries.
Among the factors that contributed to the drop in scores are changes in curriculum and modifications to the academic calendar.
These changes may have affected the depth and coverage of certain topics as schools were forced to move online.
The OECD results also highlighted the need for governments to build resilient education systems by preparing students for autonomous learning, limiting the distractions caused by digital devices in class, strengthening school-family partnerships and keep parents involved in students’ learning process.
OECD also urged schools to provide additional support to struggling students instead of requiring them to repeat a grade, ensure adequate, high-quality education staff and materials, and establish schools as hubs for social interaction.