Hong Kong third-graders' basic math results fall to their lowest since testing began in 2004

A smaller share of Hong Kong's third-year primary pupils met basic math standards in this year's citywide assessment than in any year on record, while a record share met the English standard.

The share of Primary Three pupils reaching basic competency in math fell 0.7 percentage points from last year to 84.7%, the lowest since the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) began in 2004, the South China Morning Post reported, citing results the Education Bureau released on Nov. 5.

In English, 86.3% met the basic standard, up 3.1 points and the highest on record.

English outperformed Chinese for the second straight year, with the Chinese rate rising 0.3 points to 81.7%. English also topped math for the first time in government figures dating back to 2004.

The math rate has fallen in every assessment since peaking at 89.9% in 2016, except for a 0.1-point rise in 2025. The 2016 results came from a tryout study covering about 50 schools, and the assessment was suspended from 2020 to 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A child does math homework. Photo by Unsplash/Annie Spratt

Administered by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), the TSA tests Chinese, English and math at Primary Three, Primary Six and Secondary Three. Since 2018, Primary Three results have come from a sample of about 10% of pupils at each public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme school, while schools are asked to enter all Secondary Three students.

Primary Six is assessed citywide only every two years, so this year's results covered Primary Three and Secondary Three, The Standard reported. Among Secondary Three students, the rate rose 0.4 points to 69.2% in English and 0.1 points to 78.3% in math, while Chinese fell 0.9 points to 77.1%.

The Education Bureau said performance in the three subjects "remained stable" and was similar to previous assessments.

It thanked schools for "continuously adopting diversified teaching strategies and measures to cater for the different needs of students," and said it would keep supporting them through teacher training, activities and school-based support services.

The HKEAA plans to move the assessment to electronic testing in phases, with a full transition targeted for 2031, the bureau said.

In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results released in September, Hong Kong's 15-year-olds fell to 17th in science, out of the global top 10 for the first time, the SCMP reported. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development runs the study roughly every three years, testing reading, math and science.

Lam Wai-ip, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong and co-leader of the city's PISA project, said then that "the pandemic has affected student study habits and learning motivation."