Family socioeconomic background ‘big influence’ on Pisa, says PAGE

Malaysia's 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results reveal a significant connection between a student's socioeconomic background and academic performance, according to the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman, Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim. During a recent appearance on the Keluar Sekejap podcast, Azimah highlighted a 82-point gap in science scores between students from the top 25% and bottom 25% of socioeconomic backgrounds in the country.

This disparity is equivalent to nearly three years of schooling. Azimah emphasized that the issue of social mobility remains concerning, as schools should aim to minimize the gap students bring from their home environments rather than become a place where the disparity is more pronounced. She advocated for targeted interventions for students and schools in need, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.

The former minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, echoed these sentiments, pointing out that the 82-point gap in science scores between urban, affluent schools and rural schools, where students often come from lower-income families, is particularly troubling. Both Azimah and Jamaluddin suggested that this broader theme in the 2025 Pisa results indicates that Malaysia's education challenges may not be resolved through curriculum reform alone.

Instead, they attributed uneven outcomes to factors such as teacher workload, administrative burdens, and the quality of teacher-student engagement. Malaysian students' Pisa performance in science improved slightly by three points to 419, while reading scores increased by five points to 393, while mathematics scores dropped by 11 points to 397.

This decline in mathematics performance continues a downward trend seen in the 2018 and 2022 assessments. Only 35% of Malaysian students met the baseline proficiency level in mathematics, meaning that nearly two-thirds were unable to reliably apply basic mathematical reasoning to real-world problems. Notably, Khairy also pointed out a paradox in last year's Pisa results: while mathematics scores declined, Malaysian students outperformed expectations in computational problem-solving, with 82.6% performing better than anticipated.

These students were among the top six globally. Azimah noted that while these students demonstrate the ability to adapt, utilize resources, and solve problems in varying learning contexts, the same strength does not translate into basic math mastery. She suggested that the real question lies in why this ability is not effectively converted into fundamental math skills, and that the focus should be on teaching methods rather than solely on the content being taught.