Students’ outside school ICT use and academic performance: evidence from multiple PISA waves

Using large-scale data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2022, this study explored the relations between outside school ICT use for different purposes and academic performance in reading, mathematics, and science in Hong Kong and Singapore. Three key findings were identified: (1) ICT use for entertainment and academic performance consistently showed inverted U-shaped relations across PISA waves, with the turning point gradually shifting rightward over time; (2) ICT use for learning and academic performance evolved from predominantly linear or near-linear relations in 2012 to inverted U-shaped curves in subsequent waves; (3) Singapore exhibited progressively flatter inverted U-curves in the relations between ICT use for learning and academic performance, while Hong Kong demonstrated slightly steeper curves over time.