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PISA 2025: Singapore Students Demonstrate Strong Real-World Problem-Solving Skills in Computational Thinking Domain

Published on: 08 Sep 2026

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Students Continue to Perform Strongly in Reading, Mathematics, and Science

  In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)1 in 2025, Singapore's 15-year-old students demonstrated strong competencies in computational thinking and using digital tools to solve complex real-world problems in the newly-assessed domain of Computational Problem Solving (CMPS). Our students also continue to perform strongly across all three core domains of Reading, Mathematics, and Science. The results affirm Singapore students'2 strengths in applying knowledge and skills to solve complex problems and being engaged with learning, putting them in good stead for lifelong learning. (Please refer to Annex A for the mean scores of the participating systems in PISA 2025.)

Singapore Students Do Very Well in Applying Foundational Literacies, and Using Digital Tools and Computational Thinking to Solve Real-World Problems

2. More than half of our students are top performers in CMPS, compared to a quarter of students in OECD countries on average. They are highly effective in applying computational practices such as conducting experiments, analysing data, and building and debugging computational artefacts to solve complex real-world problems. (Please refer to Annex B for sample PISA questions for CMPS.)

3. Beyond proficiency, our students are also highly engaged in learning. Under OECD's framework, Singapore is one of only two systems in PISA 2025 with over two-thirds of students who are proficient3 learners, and more than a quarter who are engaged4 learners. 28% of our students are competent learners (i.e. both proficient and engaged), compared to OECD average of 14%.

4. Singapore students continue to perform strongly in Reading, Mathematics, and Science, outperforming their peers in nearly all other systems. Notably, Singapore's proportion (15%) of academic all-rounders (viz., top performers5 in all three Reading, Mathematics, and Science domains) is the highest among all participating systems (OECD average: 3%).

5. Singapore also continues to have one of the highest proportions of top performers, and one of the lowest proportions of low performers in PISA 2025, across all three core domains. Nevertheless, performance differences between our top and low performers increased from 2022 to 2025, underscoring the importance of continuing to support students with different learning needs. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has been expanding and improving upstream efforts to support students who are academically weaker and those from more vulnerable backgrounds. MOE will continue to work with schools to provide customised support to students through additional manpower and resourcing to more schools6 and ComLink+7.

Singapore Students Report Healthy Digital Engagement and Strong Environmental Awareness

6. In tandem with their strong showing on Computational Problem Solving, Singapore students reported positive attitudes and healthy behaviours associated with the use of digital devices. For example, 78% reported comparing different sources when searching for information online (OECD average: 64%).

7. Compared to their OECD peers, Singapore students have strong environmental knowledge and beliefs in effecting positive environmental change. Singapore ranked second globally in the new Environmental Science8 module in PISA 2025, with 27% achieving proficiency levels 5 and 6 (OECD average: 7%). 94% reported that there are things they can do to positively impact the environment (OECD average: 81%).

8. MOE will continue to build on these foundations through the EdTech Masterplan9 2030 and the Eco Stewardship Programme10 , to equip students with the knowledge, skills and healthy habits to be responsible digital users and active environmental stewards in their communities.

Singapore Students Have Positive Attitudes Towards Learning and Feel Safe in School

9. In PISA 2025, Singapore students reported having positive attitudes towards learning, with 88% of students enjoying solving problems (OECD average: 80%), and 88% saying that they would ask for help only after first trying on their own (OECD average: 78%). These are important dispositions that support deep and independent learning, and will serve our students well beyond the classroom.

10. Many of our students feel safe in our schools, with 96% reported feeling so in classrooms and 94% in other places in school (OECD average: 93% and 91% respectively).

Need for Stronger Family Support and Physical Activity Beyond School

11. Similar to PISA 2022, Singapore students perceive their family as being less supportive in their learning, compared to their OECD peers, in PISA 2025. Only about half reported having weekly family discussion about how well they were doing in school (Singapore: 49%; OECD average 60%), and 39% reported their family taking interest in what they learned in school (OECD average: 58%), both showing a decline from 2022. Children desire and benefit from such interaction with parents. The Parenting for Wellness11 resources developed by Health Promotion Board, Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Education can support families in building stronger connections with their children's learning.

12. Singapore students are also less physically active outside of school. While more students reported exercising outside school in 2025 than in 2022, 23% reported not exercising at all outside school (OECD average: 17%). MOE will continue to encourage sustained healthy habits and work with other agencies through efforts such as Grow Well SG12 to help our students lead an active lifestyle, both in and out of school.

13. Commenting on the PISA 2025 findings, Director-General of Education, Ms Liew Wei Li, said: "These results provide useful insights about our students as learners — they are curious, they persevere even when learning gets hard, and they care about the world around them. Our students have strong foundations in reading, mathematical and scientific literacies, and 21st Century Competencies, which are all essential for thriving in life and at work. The findings also show where we can do better. We will continue to help our children, regardless of their background or starting point, to thrive and learn confidently. We thank our teachers, school leaders, and parents for their continued partnership in nurturing our students holistically."

Footnotes
  1. PISA is an international study coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), that which examines the extent that 15-year-old students have acquired key knowledge and skills deemed essential for further learning and participation in life beyond school. Each cycle provides information on three core domains (Reading, Mathematics, and Science), and an optional innovative domain focusing on a specific 21st Century Competencies (21CC). In PISA 2025, the innovative domain was Learning in the Digital World (LDW), with a focus on Computational Problem Solving. For more information on PISA: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/.
  2. A representative sample of 6,600 randomly-sampled 15-year-old students across all 145 public secondary schools and 12 private schools in Singapore participated in the study from April to May 2025.
  3. OECD defines “proficient learners” as those who performed at level 2 or above in Reading, Mathematics and Science, and at level 3 or above in Computational Problem Solving.
  4. OECD defines “engaged learners” as those who agreed or strongly agreed that they “like learning new things”, “apply additional effort when work becomes challenging”, and “ask for help when they have trouble learning”, and who reported that they “often” or “very often” change their approach to studying if it is not successful.
  5. In the PISA assessment, level 1 is the lowest proficiency level, and level 6 is the highest. OECD defines “top performer” as those scoring at the proficiency levels 5 and 6, and “low performer” as those performing below proficiency level 2 for Reading, Mathematics and Science, and below level 3 for CMPS.
  6. Schools with higher number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds receive additional manpower and resourcing to support the social-emotional and well-being needs of these students. These efforts include strengthening after-school engagement for these students, and enhancing partnerships and coordination with the community to provide more timely wraparound support for these students and their families.
  7. ComLink+ brings together different stakeholders to uplift selected lower-income families with children towards stability, self-reliance and social mobility (3S). Under ComLink+, family coaches and volunteer befrienders journey with ComLink+ families on their customised action plans to support their needs and aspirations.
  8. Environmental Science is a new dedicated module in PISA 2025 which assesses not just what students know, but also what drives their environmental engagement and sense of agency.
  9. Launched in 2023, MOE’s “Transforming Education through Technology” Masterplan 2030 or “EdTech Masterplan 2030” for short, outlines how schools can better leverage technology to enhance teaching and learning.
  10. Launched in 2021, the Eco Stewardship Programme is a whole-school initiative implemented from primary to pre-university levels with the aim of nurturing generations of Singaporeans to be stewards of the environment, in support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
  11. Parenting for Wellness is an initiative launched by HPB, MOE, and MSF in 2024 to empower parents with key knowledge and skills to build strong parent-child relationships, strengthen their children's mental well-being and resilience, and parent effectively in the digital age.
  12. Grow Well SG is a national health promotion strategy jointly launched by MOH, MOE, and MSF in 2025 to enhance preventive care and inculcate healthier lifestyles in children and adolescents. The multi-ministry strategy is aimed at holistically addressing children’s health and well-being in the digital age.