Global Reading Scores Plunge as Screen Time Rises

On September 8, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, covering 760,000 fifteen-year-olds in 91 countries. The report shows reading scores falling to 466, the lowest level since the assessment began in 2000 and down from a 2012 high of 501. Mathematics scores dropped to 469 from 502, while science fell to 486 from a 2009 peak of 506. The OECD noted that average reading ability now aligns with expectations for students a year younger than those tested.

Reuters

OECD head Mathias Cormann linked the decline to increased screen time and reduced leisure reading, observing that students are reading more quickly and often answering incorrectly. The assessment found that students in OECD member nations report spending an average of 3.4 hours per weekday on digital devices for leisure and an additional 3 hours for learning purposes. Cormann warned that when device use exceeds five hours daily, performance begins to deteriorate.

Reuters

East Asia emerged as the top-performing region, with Chinese cities, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan ranking highest across reading, mathematics and science. Britain and Estonia were the only non-Asian economies to place in the top ten. The report also highlighted that reading score declines were steeper among students from more affluent backgrounds.

Reuters

While the OECD report stops short of recommending outright smartphone bans in schools, it emphasizes that digital distraction correlates with lower science scores in 59 of 82 education systems studied, and more than one-quarter of students report that devices distract classmates during science lessons. Policymakers are thus urged to balance the potential learning benefits of technology with the risk of overuse, particularly beyond the five-hour threshold identified as detrimental to academic outcomes.

Reuters