Comparative Analysis of the Results of Hong Kong Students and Shanghai Students in the 2018 PISA Tests

Abstract

Educational exchange and cooperation between mainland China and Hong Kong have long been a hot issue, and PISA gives the opportunity to test the learning of students from both regions against the same set of international assessment standards. The theme of this paper is the comparative analysis of the results of Hong Kong students and Shanghai students in the 2018 PISA tests. Through the literature review method, this paper first presents the data related to the performance of B-S-J-Z (China) and Hong Kong in PISA and then compares and analyses the differences between Shanghai and Hong Kong in terms of education policies and culture, education resources, and students well-being, and finds that there are similarities and difference between Shanghai and Hong Kong in these three areas. In terms of education policy and culture, Hong Kong schools have more autonomy to decide on school management and teaching content than Shanghai schools; in terms of education resources, both places suffer from regional disparities caused by uneven distribution of staff and materials; in terms of student well-being, both places suffer from excessive student pressure and long study hours, and the situation of bullying in schools in Hong Kong is more serious. The article concludes with suggestions on how Shanghai and Hong Kong can learn from each other, as well as providing ideas for optimising the education issues common to both places.