Hong Kong pupils remain competitive among their worldwide peers in mathematical and scientific literacy, finishing among the top 10 in a major international research which is conducted every four years.

The latest results for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, was released on Wednesday. The study aims to help jurisdictions identify strengths in their education systems, as well as areas for improvement.

The Education Bureau commissioned the Chinese University of Hong Kong for the citywide assessment.

Around 8,600 students from more than 270 primary and secondary schools took part in computer-based tests from May to July last year

Primary four pupils came back fourth out of 58 economies in maths, down from second in the previous survey in 2019. But the cohort jumped six places to ninth in science.

Secondary two students, meanwhile, retained fifth place among 44 economies in maths. There was a significant improvement in science, as they improved from 17th to eighth.

Singapore topped the chart in all four categories.

"From the previous few cycles starting from 1997, Hong Kong students’ math performance has been quite outstanding, which is within the first few economies among some 50 or 40 participating economies,” said Professor Hau Kit-tai, who coordinated the research in Hong Kong.

"But for science, our improvement is slightly on a broad trend but not so obvious. In terms of ranking, as compared to the last cycle in 2019, we have improved quite a lot," he added.

The Education Bureau has recently amended the primary curriculum so that science will become an independent subject, instead of being part of general studies.

"We don’t know if that is a direct effect of such action that led to the improvement in science results as compared to last cycle," Hau said.

He predicted schools will continue to place more emphasis on science, which in turn could attract more science graduates into the education sector and improve teaching quality.

Hau also noted the performance gap between boys and girls is shrinking, with girls gradually catching up with their peers in recent cycles.

The only exception is the primary four cohort, in which boys outperformed girls by 14 points in maths, and 10 points in science.