26 October 2020
In a test conducted as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) which measured the ability of students to understand and act on intercultural and global issues, Singapore’s 15-year-olds were ranked the highest globally.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which conducted the Global Competence test in 2018, revealed that Singapore students scored an average of 576 marks, followed by their peers from Canada who on average scored 554.
About 46 per cent of the Singapore students who took the test achieved the highest global competency proficiency levels – four and five. To achieve proficiency levels four and five, Singapore students had to demonstrate a strong ability to identify and analyse different perspectives, evaluate information to differentiate between biased and unbiased sources, assess situations and make connections across multiple activities within a problem.
Ministry of Education deputy director-general of education (curriculum) Sng Chern Wei, said schools and the ministry were heartened by the results of the global competency test. Mr Sng added that the MOE will continue to focus on these areas outside of the academics.
Separately, the Pisa results on maths, science and reading competency were released in December last year by OECD, with Singapore coming in second place after China.