Full Breakdown
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 Reveals Global Reading Decline and Shifts in National Rankings
9/9/2026, 4:41:15 PM
Core Findings of the 2025 Assessment
On September 8, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released PISA 2025 results. The study tested roughly 760,000 fifteen-year-olds from 91 countries and economies. Reading scores fell about 14 points, mathematics dropped 9 points, while science remained broadly stable.
Singapore topped reading and placed second in mathematics and science. The Chinese jurisdictions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang led overall, topping science and mathematics. Japan outperformed South Korea in all three subjects, scoring 538 in science, 503 in reading and 525 in mathematics. South Korea’s reading declined to 501 points—down 14 from 2022—while its science and mathematics stayed in the OECD’s top-three range. The United States ranked 13th in reading, 27th in mathematics and 12th in science, with reading also down 14 points.
The OECD’s new “learning in the digital world” domain placed Macau first, with South Korea eighth among OECD members.
Background and Context
PISA 2025 emphasized science and introduced the digital-world assessment. The framework stresses problem-solving over curriculum-specific content. Declines in reading proficiency have been observed since at least 2015 and are linked by the OECD to increased screen time.
Data and Statistics
- Reading: OECD average 461 (down from 489 in 2015); “hasty readers” rose from 6.6 % to 11.4 % across 35 OECD countries.
- Mathematics: Average 463 (down from 485).
- Science: Average 482, the lowest recorded level.
- South Korea: Reading 501 (-14), science 526 (-1), mathematics 522 (-5).
- Japan: Science 538, reading 503, mathematics 525.
- United States: Reading proficiency 74 % of students, mathematics 65 %, both near OECD averages; gap between top and bottom performers in science and reading larger than in most countries.
- Low-performing students: In South Korea, Level 1 or below rose 4.7 percentage points to 31 %; Level 5 or above fell from 13.3 % to 10.3 %.
Official Statements & Responses
An Education Ministry representative highlighted South Korea’s relatively equitable system, noting socioeconomic background explains less variation than in Singapore or China.
Andreas Schleicher, OECD director for education and skills, described the trend as “an ongoing global decline” and urged prioritizing depth over breadth in curricula.
In the United States, Tracey Burns of the National Center on Education and the Economy said the pandemic’s “long, long tail” continues to affect learning outcomes, while Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, noted uncertainty due to incomplete questionnaire data.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The OECD flagged U.S. results with a caveat that incomplete school responses prevent ruling out bias, a concern also noted for Albania. This contrasts with definitive releases from South Korea, Japan and Singapore, where full datasets were reported.
Verbatim Quotes
- “There’s an ongoing global decline, and it seems like the pandemic has a long, long tail,” — Tracey Burns
- “Learning outcomes have stagnated or declined in many countries, in some cases for well over a decade, and gaps in achievement persist across socioeconomic groups,” — Andreas Schleicher
What’s Next
The OECD’s preface calls for curricula that focus on core concepts, limits on non-instructional device use, and targeted AI applications for feedback. National ministries in South Korea, Singapore, Japan and the United States have indicated plans to strengthen digital-literacy instruction and address widening achievement gaps, though specific policy timelines were not disclosed.
