Reading Performance of Hong Kong's 15-Year-Old Students in PISA 2000

This article presents the reading performance of Hong Kong's 15-year-old students taking part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2002. The objectives, design, and assessment instruments of PISA are first delineated and the assessment results will then be presented. Contrary to the general impression that the language ability of Hong Kong students in general is declining, it was found that the reading performance of Hong Kong students in PISA was far better than those of other participating countries. Further details on students' literacy performance will also be reported when referring to the specific aspects of reading literacy like text types and reading tasks. Initial interpretations on the results will be provided with specific relevance to the existing language curriculum, so as to suggest how the curriculum could be improved in the future.