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PISA vs SPM: Are Malaysian Students Actually Learning?

So PISA 2025 and SPM 2025 should not be treated as results from exactly the same students.Malaysian students have been doing better in SPM.

The national average grade improved from 5.05 in 2016 to 4.42 in 2025, the best result in five years. But PISA tells a different story. Malaysia’s mathematics score fell to 397 in 2025, its lowest since the country began participating. The gap does not prove SPM is getting easier, but it does raise an important question: are better examination grades translating into stronger understanding and problem-solving?

Have SPM Results Improved?

Yes.

SPM performance is tracked using the national average grade, commonly referred to as GPK (Gred Purata Kebangsaan). A lower number means better overall performance.

The reported figure improved from 5.05 in 2016 to 4.42 in 2025.

Not every indicator improved. In 2025, 13,779 candidates achieved A grades in all subjects, slightly fewer than 13,827 in 2024.
So the broader SPM trend is positive. But improving grades alone cannot tell us how well students apply what they have learned.

How Did Malaysia Perform in PISA?

PISA measures something different from SPM.

Rather than testing mastery of a national syllabus, it asks 15-year-olds to apply reading, mathematics and science knowledge to unfamiliar situations.

Malaysia’s mathematics score fell from 440 in 2018 to 409 in 2022 and 397 in 2025. Only 35% of Malaysian students reached Level 2, PISA’s baseline level of mathematics proficiency, compared with 65% across the OECD.

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh told Parliament on 13 October 2026 that students showed particular difficulty with understanding concepts, reasoning and applying knowledge in unfamiliar situations.

That distinction matters.

A student can become very good at answering a familiar type of question without being equally confident when the same concept appears in a different context.

For the full scores, read our guide to Malaysia’s PISA 2025 results Malaysia’s PISA 2025 results .

Why Can SPM Results Improve While PISA Scores Fall?

There is no single proven explanation.

First, the two assessments measure different things. SPM evaluates achievement against Malaysia’s curriculum. PISA focuses much more heavily on applying knowledge in unfamiliar situations.

Second, students can become better at preparing for a familiar examination format without improving at the same rate in reasoning and problem-solving.

Third, SPM grade boundaries are not publicly released. Outsiders therefore cannot independently compare the raw marks needed for each grade from year to year.

There is also an important timing difference. The students who took PISA in April and May 2025 were 15 years old and would generally sit SPM in 2026 or 2027, not SPM 2025.

SPM vs PISA: What Is the Difference?

How Is SPM Graded, and Does It Use a Bell Curve?

SPM does not simply use a fixed bell curve.

Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia has previously said grading considers factors such as expected competency, candidate performance and historical trends.

Wong Kah Woh also told Parliament that SPM and PISA serve different purposes and that SPM grades are determined through a standard-setting process.

That means improving SPM grades do not automatically prove standards have been lowered.
The bigger issue is transparency.

SPM grade boundaries are not publicly released, so parents cannot independently see whether the raw mark required for an A, B or pass changes each year.

Cambridge, by comparison, publishes grade thresholds for individual IGCSE examination series.

Read more about how SPM and IGCSE grading differ .

When Do Learning Gaps Become Visible?

Some learning gaps are already visible in Primary school.

In 2024, 122,062 of 448,113 Year 1 pupils, or 27.5%, required intervention in reading, writing and arithmetic after three months of Year 1.

By the end of the programme, 72,385 pupils had mastered the basics, while 49,677 continued remedial classes in Year 2.

This does not mean those learning gaps began in Year 1. It shows that a significant number of children needed additional support early in Primary school.

Can Malaysian Students Apply What They Learn?

There are encouraging signs.

In PISA 2025’s computational problem-solving assessment, Malaysia scored 484 and was among six systems that performed more than 30 points above what their science results predicted.

However, 484 remained below the OECD reference level of 500.

The result suggests Malaysian students do have problem-solving potential. The challenge is getting those abilities to appear more consistently across learning, particularly mathematics.

What Is the Government Doing?

The Education Ministry’s Mathematics Education Transformation Plan focuses on conceptual understanding, reasoning, problem-solving and identifying learning gaps earlier.

The direction reflects the same concern highlighted by PISA: mathematics should not simply be about arriving at the correct answer, but understanding how to get there.

What Should Parents Look for Beyond SPM Grades?

SPM results still matter, but grades show only part of the picture.

Parents can ask:

• Can my child explain how they reached the answer?
• Can they solve the same concept when the question changes?
• Does their school teach problem-solving or mainly examination technique?
• What do classroom and PBD assessments show beyond final grades?

Malaysia’s improving SPM results are encouraging. But the gap with PISA suggests that better grades alone should not be the finish line.

The goal is not simply to know the right answer. It is to understand enough to know what to do when the question changes.