In November 2018 the MUT organised a conference to present its research carried out on International Studies - TIMSS, PIRLS and PISA. The research which was commissioned to and presented by statistician Prof Vincent Marmara, provided a number of observations and recommendations about participation in International Studies. To-date little or none of them have been heeded by the Education Ministry.
The PISA study of 2025 which has just been published provides a comparison between Malta's student performance together with other participating countries. Results, whilst somehow expected, are not encouraging and must be analysed thoroughly. Looking at numbers in the three proficiency areas: 52% reached the baseline proficiency in Reading (OECD average 69%), 56% reached the baseline proficiency in Mathematics (OECD average 65%) and 63% reached the baseline proficiency in Science (OECD average 74%).
Whilst the gap when comparing with the respective OECD averages is considerable, results show a decline in Reading, Mathematics and Science performances below the OECD average in all three domains. Maltese students' performance in PISA 2025 was lower when compared with PISA 2022 - 8 percentage points in Reading, 11 percentage points in Mathematics and 3 percentage points in Science. Whilst PISA is a snapshot of student performance at a particular stage in their educational journey and it does not reflect their entire educational experience, a deeper understanding of results is required.
The research carried out with educators by the MUT in 2018 issued a number of observations and recommendations, which are still valid. We shall go through them below as published in the 2018 research report:
1. Tests' criteria were not catered for in the Maltese education system as opposed to the situation in other countries, some of which base their curriculum on the assessments, with the objective of obtaining a better ranking.
2. The majority of educators had heard about TIMSS, PIRLS and PISA but there was no general in-depth level of knowledge on what they consisted in. Around 28% of educators were either knowledgeable or very knowledgeable about the tests. Three-quarters of educators knew very little about what they involve.
3. There was an incorrect perception about Maltese students' performance in the tests, with around 40% of educators thinking students were attaining average scores, when in reality they are performing below average.
4. Less than 17% of educators were involved in PISA, and under 9% in PIRLS.
5. Less than 5% of educators said the tests were given a high level of importance in the educators' workplace.
6. On average, educators said their level of preparation for the tests was low.
7. With regards to students, around 30% of educators said that there was no preparation at all for the assessments.
8. The opinion of educators about the tests was, in its majority, "neutral" about the importance of the tests, or saw the assessments as "just a test".
9. Only a fraction of educators said the assessments provide a true picture of students' knowledge.
10. Over 60% of educators said the language of the assessments had a significant impact on Malta's results.
Recommendations for consideration by the Education Ministry are still due. Educational authorities must either refrain from giving importance to these studies or else the Maltese educational system must be aligned to the tests criteria of International Studies. Should the latter route be chosen, educators must be given in-depth knowledge about these tests. It is the duty of the Education Ministry to provide the necessary information and training to educators.
The Education Ministry needs also to clearly explain the outcome of these tests and the performance of Maltese students. The same information needs to be passed to parents and students. Educators and parents must also be involved throughout and not only on the day of the test. The language of assessment has a significant impact on results and there must be rethinking about it, especially in the context of foreign students. Finally we can continue to be humiliated by these tests results, we can ignore them, we can fail to participate in International Studies, or else we can act to improve our scores.
The ball is in the Education Ministry's court.
Marco Bonnici, President of the Malta Union of Teachers