The Education Bureau today announced that Hong Kong students performed remarkably well in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021.

The study is conducted every five years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement to assess the mother tongue reading literacy of students between the ages of nine and 10.

Local Primary 4 students were ranked second among 43 countries or regions in the study, reaching the best tier internationally and staying in the global top three for a fourth straight cycle since 2006.

Among Hong Kong’s Primary 4 students, 92% were at or above the Intermediate International Benchmark, higher than the international average of 75%.

With a 3% increase from 2016, a total of 21% of the Hong Kong students were at or above the highest benchmark, which was attained by only 7% of students globally.

The study showed that local Primary 4 students did better in informational reading than in literary reading, and their performance in both types of reading purposes improved as compared with that in 2016.

The study also showed that compared with other countries or regions, family socio-economic status does not have a significant influence on the reading attainment of Hong Kong Primary 4 students.

This speaks for the equal access to quality education offered by Hong Kong's primary education system, with support from different stakeholders playing a pivotal role in enhancing students' reading and language abilities.

The bureau pointed out that the study also reflects that parental involvement has a positive impact on students’ reading attainment.

Saying that face-to-face classes in schools were suspended intermittently due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the past few years, the bureau noted that the study in Hong Kong would not have been conducted smoothly without the concerted efforts of all stakeholders.

Moreover, by making full use of the supporting measures and resources provided by the Government, the schools adopted various means flexibly to support students' reading and learning at home, the bureau added.