Both TIMSS and Pisa offer students questions in the main language of instruction in their respective countries.

For TIMSS, Malaysia has been recording a steady decline in Mathematics, scoring 519 points in 1999 and dropping to 474 points by 2007. Students performance in Science over the years is more mixed; starting with 492 points in 1999; to 510 points in 2003; and finally 471 points in 2007.

For both subjects, Malaysia dropped below the international average in 2007 after being above average in previous years. Malaysias showing in the Pisa 2009 is relatively more alarming. Around 60% of students failed to meet the minimum Mathematics standards, meaning that they were unable to handle basic concepts and formulae. For reading, 44% of students were below the minimum standards as they were either unable to recognise the main idea of the reading text and compare the information provided with everyday knowledge. In Science, 43% of students failed to reach the minimum standard; while they had some Science knowledge, they could only apply it to a few familiar situations. Overall, Malaysia ranked around 100 points in Pisa 2009 compared to countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea every 38 points is equivalent to a year of schooling.