Hong Kong students rank below average in global creative thinking study

Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)

In a global study on creative thinking, Hong Kong students scored just below average, with an education expert calling it a “wake-up call”.

In its first assessment of creative thinking, the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) found that 15-year-old Hong Kong pupils fell below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average despite scoring above average in reading and maths.

The scores from the 2022 assessment were revealed last month. Results for maths, reading, and science were announced last December.

Professor Hau Kit-tai, national project manager of Hong Kong Pisa 2022, said the results showed the need for a change in “attitudes” towards creativity in the classroom.

“This is a wake-up call,” Hau said. “It tells us our students are really not good at … thinking outside the box.”

Held every three years, Pisa is a worldwide study that tests 15-year-old students on mother-tongue literacy, maths, and science. Since 2012, each cycle has also included a rotating “innovative domain.”

Previous non-traditional subjects have included problem-solving and “global competence”.

Quiz time

1. Who set the average score for the creative thinking assessment?

2. In which subjects did Hong Kong shine in the Pisa study?

3. Based on this study, what changes should be made for Hong Kong students?

4. What is the Pisa study?

5. What non-conventional topics have been included in the Pisa assessment?

A Hong Kong education expert said the city needs to shift its attitude about creativity in the classroom. Photo: Dickson Lee

Suggested answers

1. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

2. reading and maths

3. There needs to be a change in attitudes towards creative thinking in the classroom.

4. It is a worldwide study that tests 15-year-old students on subjects like mother-tongue literacy, maths, and science.

5. problem-solving and global competence