Malaysia has received some encouraging news from the latest PISA 2025 results, with the country being compared positively with high-performing Singapore in one important area.
But before we celebrate too quickly, this does not mean Malaysian students scored the same as Singapore overall.
Instead, the comparison was made specifically in terms of education equity, or how evenly educational opportunities and outcomes are distributed between schools.
Only 17% of performance differences happened between schools
According to Sinar Harian, OECD Director for Education and Skills Dr Andreas Schleicher said only around 17% of the variation in Malaysian students’ performance occurs between schools, which is considerably lower than the international average.
This suggests that the school a Malaysian student attends has a relatively smaller influence on their academic performance compared with many other education systems.
Schleicher said Malaysia compares positively with high-performing countries such as Singapore when it comes to education equity.
He also noted that the gap between schools serving wealthier communities and those in less advantaged areas is smaller in Malaysia than in many other countries.
In other words, students may not necessarily have to enter a so-called “top school” just to have access to better educational opportunities.
Science and Reading improve, but Maths falls
Malaysia’s overall academic results, however, showed a more mixed picture.
According to NST, 15-year-olds in the country recorded improvements in both Science and Reading compared with PISA 2022, with the former increasing by three points to 419 and by five points to 393 respectively.
Mathematics however, went in the opposite direction, where it fell by 11 points to 397, continuing to be an area of concern.
In light of the sharp decline, Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek said the decline should be taken seriously and addressed more intensively rather than defensively.
Students show strong problem-solving skills
Despite the drop in Mathematics, Malaysian students appeared to have another unexpected strength.
Schleicher said Malaysian students performed significantly better than expected in computational problem-solving based on their Mathematics performance.
This refers to skills such as breaking down complex problems, recognising patterns, identifying relevant information and coming up with logical steps to solve them.
According to him, Malaysia’s relative advantage in this area was stronger than that of any other country participating in PISA.
However, he said these abilities now need to be better connected with Mathematics education, with greater emphasis placed on reasoning, modelling and problem-solving instead of simply memorising procedures.
Praised for curiosity and perseverance
Malaysian 15-year-olds were also found to demonstrate strong curiosity, perseverance and ability to manage their own learning, performing better than students in many participating countries in these areas.
Teachers in Malaysia were also recognised for the level of trust and support students said they received from them.
Schleicher noted that students generally perform better when they feel supported by teachers and believe there are adults at school who have confidence in their ability to succeed.
So, is M’sia really “on par” with Singapore?
Not exactly, at least not when it comes to overall PISA academic performance as the comparison highlighted in the PISA 2025 findings refers specifically to education equity between schools.
Still, the results suggest Malaysia has several strengths to build on, including relatively equal educational opportunities, improving Science and Reading scores and strong computational problem-solving skills.
At the same time, the decline in Mathematics shows there is still plenty of room for improvement.
