PISA 2012 results disseminated worldwide simultaneously, Macao’s students attain excellent standards in mathematical literacy

1.Macao, special administrative region of People's Republic of China, participated in OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for the first time in 2003. Macao participated again in 2006, 2009, 2012, and will participate for the fifth time in 2015. 2.In each three-yearly cycle of PISA assessment, three kinds of literacy are examined, namely: reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. The target students assessed are all secondary students who are aged between 15 years three months and 16 years two months at the time of assessment. For Macao, most students are studying in the three middle grade levels (i.e. grade 8, 9 and 10), whereas some students are studying in the lower or higher grade levels (i.e. grade 7, 11 and 12). This grade distribution has implications for the literacy performance attained in the Macao sample. 3.When comparing the literacy performance across schools, it is important to note that the literacy assessed actually referred to the cumulative educational effects of all the schools that the students have attended previously. Therefore, a low-performing school identified in PISA may not be a poor school. Low-performing students who drop out from one school may subsequently enroll in another school thereby have a possibility of lowering the sampled school's literacy performance level. 4.The focus of PISA 2012 was on mathematics. Amongst the 65 participating countries/economies, Macao's mathematical literacy performance was statistically significantly above the OECD average, and ranked between 6 and 8 on the combined mathematics scale. In decreasing order of the mean of the mathematical literacy score, the five countries/economies statistically significantly higher than Macao are: Shanghai-China, Singapore, Hong Kong-China, Chinese Taipei, and Korea whereas the two countries/economies comparable in performance with that of Macao are: Japan and Liechtenstein. 5.Altogether there are six proficiency levels (i.e. level 1-6) in the combined mathematical literacy scale. There are three important findings. First, students performing below level 2 are regarded as low-performers. About 11% of Macao's 15-year-olds performed at this low level. Second, students who cannot reach the lowest level (i.e. level 1) are regarded as disadvantaged. They run the risks of being unable to function productively in the life-long learning society in the 21st Century. About 3% of the students are thus seriously at risk. Third, students who can reach the top two levels (i.e. level 5 and 6) are crowned as high-performers. They are cherished as valuable talents who are much needed in nowadays knowledge society. In Macao, close to a quarter of the adolescents are high performers in mathematical literacy. 6.Amongst the three problem-solving processes of mathematical literacy, Macao's 15-year-olds performed pretty well in problem formulation, very well in employing mathematics to solve problems, and quite well in interpreting the problem solving solutions. Contrary to previous cycles of PISA assessment, gender difference in mathematical literacy favoring males is not pronounced in PISA 2012. Admittedly, there is a small gender difference favoring males observed in mathematical problem formulation. 7.A minor focus of the PISA 2012 was on the assessment of scientific literacy. Amongst the 65 participating countries/economies, Macao's scientific literacy performance was statistically significantly above the OECD average, and ranked between 9 and 19 on the scientific literacy scale. In descending order of the mean of the scientific literacy score, countries/economies statistically significantly higher than Macao are: Shanghai-China, Hong Kong-China, Singapore, Japan, Finland, Estonia, Korea and Canada. 8.Another minor focus of the PISA 2012 Study was on the assessment of reading literacy. Amongst the 65 participating countries/economies, Macao's reading literacy performance was statistically significantly above the OECD average, and ranked between 12 and 22 on the reading literacy scale. In descending order of the mean of reading literacy score, countries/economies statistically significantly higher than Macao are: Shanghai-China, Hong Kong-China, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Finland, Ireland, Chinese Taipei, Canada, Poland and Estonia. 9.Same as previous three cycles of PISA assessment, the slope of the literacy-ESCS relationship is gentle and the percentage of literacy performance variance explained by economic, social and cultural status (ESCS) is the lowest of the 65 participating countries/economies. Therefore, Macao's basic educational system continues to provide equitable schooling opportunities for the student body it served. 10.Five sets of quality education indicators for the betterment of mathematics education in Macao schools have been identified, namely (1) Learning Mathematics (e.g. familiarity with mathematical concepts); (2) Mathematics Experiences (e.g. mathematics teacher's classroom management); (3) Problem Solving Experiences (e.g. openness for problem solving); (4) Availability and Use of ICT (e.g. ICT use at home for school-related tasks); (5) Classroom and School Climate (e.g. teacher-student relations). Using these indicators as guideposts, suggestions can be made to help low-performing students enhance mathematical literacy performance. 11.Since 2003, Macao has participated four times in the PISA assessment of mathematical, scientific and reading literacy (i.e. PISA 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012). As at 2012, Macao students have reached very high standards in mathematical literacy, improved appreciably in reading literacy up to the OECD average standard, and maintained fairly good standard in scientific literacy. To raise literacy standards to new heights in the forthcoming PISA 2015, it is important to elevate the mathematical and reading literacy performance standard of the low-achievers, and increase the scientific literacy standard of the high-achievers.