The Reading Performance of Hong Kong Secondary Students in the Program for International Student Assessment: Insights for the Chinese Language Curriculum Reform

Author: Kit-Ling Lau(Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 54, No. 2
Date：June 2009
Pages：85-105
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2009065402004

Abstract：

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is one of the most influential international assessments in the world. The reading assessment framework of PISA incorporates both cognitive and social perspective in reading research. It mainly assesses the capacity of an individual to use different aspects of reading literacy to develop one’s potential and to participate effectively in society. The results of PISA provide useful information for evaluating and comparing the educational effectiveness of different countries. Hong Kong students have participated in all of the three PISA assessment cycles. The reading performance of Hong Kong students in PISA2006 was very good. They made substantial improvements in all reading processes, reading materials, and reading contexts when compared with the past two cycles. This paper discussed the reasons of Hong Kong students’ better performance from the perspective of recent curriculum reform in Hong Kong. By comparing the old and new Chinese language curriculum with the PISA assessment framework, it was found that the reading instructional approach suggested in the new curriculum was more consistent with the concept of PISA assessment and the literacy requirement of the modern society than the old curriculum. Implications of the findings for reflecting and improving the reading instruction in Chinese language teaching are discussed.

Keywords：Chinese reading instruction, PISA, curriculum reform, reading literacy

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