Hong kong students' creative thinking performance matches international average in pisa 2022, education bureau focuses on enhancing competitiveness
The results on creative thinking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 announced today (June 18) showed that the performance of 15-year-old Hong Kong students was on par with the international average. With reference from the study findings as well as Hong Kong students' performance in other assessments, the Education Bureau (EDB) will continue collaborating with various stakeholders to enhance the international competitiveness of Hong Kong students.
In the cognitive test of the creative thinking assessment of PISA 2022 with a total of 64 participating countries or economies, Hong Kong students achieved a mean score of 32, comparable to the international average of 33.
An EDB spokesman said, "Hong Kong students displayed better performance in evaluating and improving ideas, and relatively stronger capabilities in social problem solving. On the other hand, their performance in generating diverse and creative ideas as well as visual expression has room for improvement."
PISA 2022 defines creative thinking as the competence to engage productively in the generation, evaluation and improvement of ideas that can result in original and effective solutions, advances in knowledge and impactful expressions of imagination. The study assessed students’ performance in creative thinking through four types of cognitive test contents, namely written expression, visual expression, social problem solving and scientific problem solving.
The spokesman said, "The results of this study once again demonstrated Hong Kong's remarkable performance in terms of education equity, ranking first among countries or economies with high academic achievements. This indicates that family background and socio-economic status have minimal bearing on Hong Kong students’ performance in creative thinking, and highlights that the Hong Kong education system provides all students with high-quality and equal education opportunities.
"The EDB will draw reference from the findings of this study to further nurture students’ creative thinking and other generic skills, laying a solid foundation for their whole person development and lifelong learning," he added.
PISA is organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and conducted every three years, with an aim of assessing the mathematical, scientific and mother tongue reading literacy of 15-year-old students. Findings of the latest cycle (i.e. PISA 2022) were released on December 5, 2023. Announced today were the assessment results in the innovative domain of the same study. Since PISA 2012, the OECD has included a specific innovative domain in each PISA cycle to assess students' 21st century interdisciplinary competences, such as the assessment of collaborative problem solving and global competence in PISA 2015 and 2018 respectively.
Background information on PISA 2022 and key statistics of the creative thinking assessment results are available in the Annex.
Source: AI-generated images
Hksar government condemns taiwan's false claims on hong kong national security law, asserts law protects human rights and targets only a minority endangering national security.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (June 27) strongly condemned and strongly opposed Taiwan authorities' political manoeuvre with fact-twisting smears and slanders exposing malicious intentions which, under the pretext of raising so-called travel alert status, smeared that the risks of travelling to Hong Kong had increased after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) in Hong Kong.
A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said, "It is the constitutional duty of the HKSAR to safeguard national security. In accordance with international law and international practice based on the Charter of the United Nations, safeguarding national security is an inherent right of all sovereign states. Many common law jurisdictions, including western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Singapore, have enacted multiple pieces of legislation to safeguard national security. Taiwan authorities turned a blind eye to the fact, made exaggerated remarks, maliciously smeared and demonised the NSL and the SNSO, completely unmasking its double standards."
"The legal framework for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR is fully in compliance with the international standard for the protection of human rights. The NSL and the SNSO clearly stipulate that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security. The rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, of the press and of publication, and the freedoms of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration, enjoyed by Hong Kong people under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applicable to the HKSAR are protected in accordance with the law.
"The offences endangering national security stipulated by the NSL and the SNSO target acts endangering national security with precision, and define the elements and penalties of the offences with clarity. The HKSAR law enforcement agencies have been taking law enforcement actions based on evidence and strictly in accordance with the law in respect of the acts of the persons concerned. The prosecution has the burden to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had the actus reus and mens rea of an offence before the defendant may be convicted by the court. Ordinary travellers (including travellers from China's Taiwan region) will not engage in acts and activities endangering our national security and will not unwittingly violate the law.
"The offences endangering national security only target an extremely small minority of people who endanger national security and the safety of Hong Kong. Safeguarding national security is fundamentally consistent with the respect for and protection of human rights. Safeguarding national security is for better protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of HKSAR residents and other persons in the HKSAR and ensuring the property and investments in the HKSAR are protected by the law," the spokesman reiterated.
"The HKSAR Government strongly urges Taiwan authorities to stop smearing the NSL and the SNSO. The despicable manoeuvre with politics is doomed to fail."
