Nabil Luqman

0f9d2dd4f71434084e2b6094de1865e23abb37bb9f28ca51feeabee679ec9be2

Social

Science

education

schools

Maths

Reading

PISA

Rote learning

report card

Malaysia&rsquo;s latest international education assessment has delivered a mixed report card. While Malaysian students have improved in Science and Reading, the country&rsquo;s Mathematics performance has fallen by 11 points, prompting the Education Ministry to acknowledge that the decline needs serious attention.
The results come from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025, an OECD assessment of 15-year-old students measuring how well they can apply knowledge and skills to real-world problems.
Malaysia&rsquo;s assessment involved 7,624 students from 157 schools and educational institutions nationwide, as part of the study involving 91 participating countries and economies.
Science And Reading Scores Improve
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/d361e4c0a4364cb3236c3720961fe31811b4ef5ecbc75402e970ed1ddc5049e9" />
There is encouraging news in the latest results.
Malaysia&rsquo;s Science literacy score increased by three points to 419, compared with PISA 2022, while Reading literacy rose by five points to 393. Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek described the improvements as encouraging, particularly as several OECD averages also declined.
However, Malaysian students remain below the OECD average in all three core domains, meaning there is still significant room for improvement.
Mathematics Falls 11 Points
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/33e5b8a3493cff191ed2fa20b1adad8070755d5ce3bf5ec6db6df6867a724ed3" />
The biggest concern is Mathematics.
Malaysia&rsquo;s average PISA Mathematics score dropped from 408 in 2022 to 397 in 2025, marking an 11-point decline.
Fadhlina said the ministry could not treat the result as a one-off fluctuation and needed to examine the issue more seriously. She also stressed that knowing formulas and procedures is not enough if students cannot apply what they have learned to unfamiliar situations.
That is where the government&rsquo;s Mathematics Education Transformation Plan comes in, focusing on conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning and problem-solving rather than simply finding the correct answer.
Strong Computational Problem-Solving Skills
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/d10ab30f791bd21bfa75a3a05c6b28aced116727e030da77b5306ede09cf2a4d" />
Interestingly, the Mathematics decline comes alongside a relative strength in computational problem-solving.
Malaysia recorded a score of 484, below the OECD average of 500, but performed strongly compared with what its traditional academic results might suggest.
The OECD found that 82.6% of Malaysian students performed better in computational problem-solving than would be expected based on their Science performance, the highest proportion among countries with comparable data.
The skill involves breaking complex problems into smaller parts, recognising patterns, identifying relevant information and organising logical steps towards a solution. This presents an interesting challenge for Malaysia: students appear capable of strong problem-solving, but those skills are not consistently translating into stronger Mathematics results.
The Education Ministry is responding with measures including a Mathematics Misconceptions Module, teacher retraining and other targeted interventions.
Moving Away From Rote Learning
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/251845f28be370b54391b8145fffc5baf097649d1992684ec21984f640884683" />
Academics have also called for Mathematics education to move away from memorising procedures and towards deeper understanding.
Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Ibrahim of UCSI University said some students continue to struggle with basic concepts such as fractions, making advanced Mathematics more difficult later on. He argued that stronger foundations should be built from the early primary years.
National STEM Association president Prof Datuk Dr Noraini Idris similarly called for concepts to be presented more intuitively so students understand the reasoning behind mathematical methods rather than simply memorising them.
The Mathematics Education Transformation Plan 2026&ndash;2035 aims to address these weaknesses by identifying learning gaps earlier, improving teacher expertise and strengthening mathematical reasoning.
Teachers Remain A Major Strength
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/38aa2da56e6868c18898b88bfa15b3e66173da49ceca82ecfca3eb127181762e" />
Despite the Mathematics decline, PISA 2025 highlighted strong relationships between Malaysian students and their teachers.
The findings showed:
<ul>
<li>91% said teachers helped their learning.</li>
<li>87% said teachers taught until they understood.</li>
<li>86% received extra help when needed.</li>
<li>83% were given opportunities to express their opinions.</li>
<li>80% said teachers showed interest in their learning.</li>
</ul>
OECD Education and Skills Director Andreas Schleicher also highlighted Malaysian students&rsquo; curiosity, resilience and ability to manage their own learning, while praising the support provided by teachers.
Malaysia Shows Strong Education Equity
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/9629928d599028692b7ed9b429f84bbee69f6ca643699a2722f098078dded3b4" />
Another strength is education equity.
Schleicher said only around 17% of the variation in student performance occurs between Malaysian schools, lower than the international average.
This suggests the school a student attends has less influence on academic performance compared with many other education systems. He also said Malaysia compares positively with high-performing countries such as Singapore in terms of equity.
Rather than rebuilding the entire education system, Malaysia could therefore strengthen what already works while focusing on specific weaknesses.
Parents And Cyberbullying Remain Concerns
<img src="https://r2.myc.my/7fa41c6e3f1881d8d007fdea2960e9df8cc951c123e63d3652fc8a62966b2f70" />
PISA 2025 also highlighted challenges beyond the classroom.
Family support for learning appears to have declined. Only 34% of Malaysian students said they discussed school problems with their parents at least weekly, down from 46% in 2022. Those discussing school activities weekly also fell from 57% to 51%.
Cyberbullying is another concern, with around 5% of Malaysian students reporting that they had experienced it, compared with 3% across the OECD.
Fadhlina stressed that these findings should not simply become a matter of blaming parents, teachers or schools. Instead, she called for families and the wider community to play a stronger role in supporting students.
What Happens Next?
The PISA 2025 results present a mixed picture for Malaysian education.
Science and Reading have improved, computational problem-solving is a relative strength, teacher support remains high and Malaysia performs comparatively well in education equity.
However, the 11-point drop in Mathematics is the warning sign that cannot be ignored.
The next challenge is turning Malaysia&rsquo;s strengths in curiosity, resilience, computational thinking and teacher support into stronger mathematical reasoning and real-world problem-solving.
Ultimately, Mathematics needs to be more than memorising formulas and producing answers. Students need to understand why something works and how to apply that knowledge when the problem changes.
&nbsp;
*Sources: Visual and Reference Credits to Social Media &amp; various cross-references for context.
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Malaysia’s Maths score fell 11 points in PISA 2025, while Singapore dropped 13 — but Thailand rose 13 and the Philippines jumped 20.

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Malaysia’s PISA 2025 Results Show Maths Decline Despite Gains In Science And Reading

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BIllie Eilish UMMY

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Malaysia’s PISA 2025 Results Show Maths Decline Despite Gains In Science And Reading

Malaysia’s Maths score fell 11 points in PISA 2025, while Singapore dropped 13 — but Thailand rose 13 and the Philippines jumped 20.

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