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3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 13 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The international Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) study assesses students on computer literacy and com- putational thinking. Students attending church schools achieved a mean com- puter literacy score of 503 and those in independent schools scored 508, a result which sur- passes the international aver- age of 476. Students attending state schools scored 436.5, well below the international aver- age. Males attending state schools fare even worse, achieving a poor score of 418 points. Females attending state schools fared better than males in the same cohort scoring 453. But the best achievers in com- puter literacy were females at- tending church schools with a score of 524. In terms of computational thinking students from inde- pendent schools scored 483, equivalent to the international average. In contrast, the mean CT scores of students attend- ing church schools (473) and state schools (386) were signif- icantly lower. In this respect the highest score was registered by females in independent schools (484) compared with boys in state schools, who registered the worst result (390.5). The assessing computer and information literacy (CIL) was carried out in 34 countries, while the study on computa- tional thinking (CT) was done in 23 countries. In Malta, the study covered 3,115 students hailing from 42 different sec- ondary schools. Malta fares worst in computational thinking Overall, Malta ranked 21 out of the 34 countries surveyed, scoring 475 points in the CIL scale, just a notch down from the international average of 476 and well below the top score registered by the Re- public of Korea (540) and the Czechia (525). Malta ranked 18 out of 23 countries in terms of compu- tational thinking (CT) with a score of 438 which was far lower than the internation- al average of 483, well below the two front runners, Taiwan (548) and the Republic of Ko- rea (537). But Malta was also well below the score of other EU countries like Czechia (527) and Belgium (509). The study shows that just over half of Maltese students are op- erating below level 2 in terms of CIL proficiency, the level at which students demonstrate an understanding of computer use basics. This corresponds to the aver- age percentage of students op- erating below this level (51%). In contrast in Korea only 28% are operating below this level. Moreover, 38% of Maltese students (compared to an in- ternational mean of 34%) are operating below level 2 in CT proficiency which means that they can logically sequence on- ly a very small variety of com- mands. Computer literacy In Malta 25% of students (compared to an international average of 24%,) were work- ing below CIL Level 1, which means they can execute on- ly the most basic and simple commands under explicit in- struction. 26% (compared to an international average of 27%) were working at CIL Lev- el 1, and can use computers to perform routine research and communication tasks under instruction. 31% (compared to an international average of 34%) were working at CIL Level 2, and can use computers with support to complete basic and explicit information gathering and information management tasks. Only 15% (compared to 14% internationally) were working at Level 3, and demonstrat- ed the capacity to work inde- pendently when using comput- ers as information gathering and management tools. Fur- thermore, 2% (compared to 1% internationally) were working at Level 4, and can execute control and evaluative judge- ment when searching for infor- mation and creating informa- tion products. Computational thinking Student CT achievement was described across four levels of increasing sophistication. In Malta 21% (compared to an in- ternational average of 10%) of students were working below CT Level 1, which means they can only execute the most basic commands under instruction. A further 27% (compared to an international average of 24%) were working at CT Lev- el 1, and can solve problems in which there is a generally small and functionally independent set of steps. They can logically sequence a small variety of commands, un- derstand, and apply loops for repetitive actions, and ensure conditions are met to direct programme flow. 32% of Maltese students (compared to 37% internation- ally) were working at CT Level 2, and can recognise and apply various combinations within limited groups of commands and concepts, including se- quencing, conditional logic, and loops, to formulate and solve problems. Only 17% (compared to 23% internationally) were working at Level 3, and can engage with problems that include a varie- ty of computational concepts such as simulation, conditional logic, and data interpretation and can make independent ef- forts to develop solutions with efficient code. Only 4% (compared to 6% in- ternationally) were working at Level 4, and can recognise and analyse problems that involve a broad variety of computational concepts and commands. Mixed but promising results A national report issued by the Ministry for Education de- scribed the results in the ICILS study as "mixed but promis- ing" noting that while in terms of computer and information literacy, Maltese students per- formed close to the interna- tional average, in terms of com- putational thinking Maltese students' scores were notably lower than the ICILS average. "These results underscore an opportunity for targeted im- provements in computational thinking curricula, particularly to support the development of problem-solving and program- ming skills that are fundamen- tal in the digital age," director general Jude Zammit said in a forward to the national report. On a more positive note Mal- ta's mean score for availability of technology infrastructure resources at school, (52.7) was significantly larger than the ICILS 2023 average (50). Males attending state schools fare worst in computer literacy study CIL CT Boys in State Schools 418 381.5 Girls in State Schools 453 390.5 Boys in Church Schools 484 466 Girls in Church Schools 524 481 Boys in Independent Schools 496 482 Girls in Independent Schools 521.5 484 National Score 475 438 Average International Score 476 483 Computer and Information Literacy (CIL) and Computational thinking score (CT) by gender and type of school