High PISA scores do not always translate into job performance

Singapore students topped a recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) problem-solving test, which was celebrated by some as a validation that we produce creative problem-solvers, not rote learners.

It is all well and good that our pupils can solve unfamiliar problems, but this euphoria must be checked against the common feedback from employers, especially multinational corporations (MNCs), that local graduates tend not to be the most impressive workers.

The PISA test involves students solving problems individually on a computer. How well does that translate into real-world scenarios where one must make sense of incomplete data, define the problem, then collaborate and debate with others who have differing perspectives, cultures and styles?

Or where one must work with and around systems, processes and organisational dynamics, use intuition as much as logic to formulate a solution, market that solution to stakeholders to get buy-in and, finally, drive relentlessly towards the desired outcome?

The real world rarely requires IQ-smart people to decipher data and reports in silos, and solve pre-designed problems based purely on logic.

Our education system does well in teaching technical subjects such as Mathematics and Science, as well as developing our pupils’ hard skill sets for problem-solving.

The gap is in the soft skills: Articulation, facilitation, leadership and cultural-political-organisational acumen.

This gap can be closed only by placing due focus on areas such as literature, public speaking, group work and the social sciences.

It can be comparatively challenging to score As in these topics and some of them cannot even be evaluated objectively.

We must recognise, however, that unless we acquire these skills to complement our traditional strength in hard skills, we cannot develop truly world-class talent to compete in the globalised knowledge economy.

We must understand that many valuable skills in life and the modern workplace cannot be evaluated via standardised tests.

As the former head of learning for a group business function in an MNC, I believe we should pay more attention to employers’ input and needs. Achievements in standardised tests do not necessarily translate into superior workplace performance.