Representation of Students from Lower Socio-economic Backgrounds among Singapore’s Highest-performing Students

Assoc Prof Kenneth Goh asked the Minister for Education in light of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 finding that 10.7% of Singapore's socio-economically disadvantaged students reached the top national quarter in science performance (a) whether the Ministry tracks the representation of students from lower socio-economic status among Singapore's highest-performing students over time; and (b) if so, what trends it has observed.

Mr Desmond Lee: Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data, the proportion of Singapore's students from the lowest-25% social economic status (SES) homes who performed at the highest-25% nationally has remained stable between 2015 and 2025.

PISA defines students who attain the top two proficiency levels as top performers. 1 Compared to most other top-performing education systems in PISA 2025, Singapore has a higher proportion of top performers among students from the lowest-25% SES homes.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 84:

1 Besides the overall mean score, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development also reports PISA performance based on six proficiency levels which describe what students can do in each domain.