PISA test reveals alarming drop in reading and math skills
The results of the 2025 PISA study, published on September 8, show a dramatic drop in performance in reading and mathematics around the world, according to DW.
The Program for International Student Assessment, better known as PISA, is a global study that measures how well 15-year-old students can apply their knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science to real-life situations. The test is designed to measure problem-solving skills rather than evaluate students on memorized school facts, which means they cannot revise in preparation for it.
First administered in 2000, it is considered the world's most influential measure of educational performance.
In 2025, more than 760,000 students in 91 countries and economies took the test.
The study always includes in its ranking the average of the international group of 38 advanced, high-income countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the OECD.
Between 2015 and 2025, reading skills have seen the most significant decline, decreasing by 28 points in OECD countries, and by 16 points in the other participating countries and economies.
Scores in math have dropped by 22 points across the OECD on average, compared to a decline of 8 points in the rest of the world.
In science, the focus of the 2025 PISA assessment, a seven-point decline was measured in OECD countries, while the performances in other countries and economies remained broadly stable.
The latest PISA study reveals that around 29% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries are now estimated to be "low performers" across all three subjects.
In science, they struggle to interpret simple data or decipher a graph. In reading, they find it hard to find information in simple texts. In mathematics, they might be unable to understand, for example, the relationship between units and price — basic skills needed for grocery shopping.
Across the OECD, reading scores fell by 25 score points on average.
The study points out that 20 score points are about equivalent to a year of learning. This implies that most 15-year-old students were performing at the level typically expected of 14-year-olds.
Among the OECD countries, the drops were most extreme in Iceland and Slovenia, with scores going down by more than 50 points.
Reading scores improved in five countries only: Qatar (up 11 points), Brunei Darussalam (18), Cambodia (26), the Philippines (27) and Zambia (50). Even though these education systems are still below the OECD average, they "deserve recognition for achieving measurable gains despite the broader global decline," notes the study.
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