The results of the PISA 2025 assessment program, which evaluated more than 760,000 students from 91 countries and economies, reveal a widespread decline in mathematics, reading, and science competencies across much of Europe and the OECD. Reading emerges as the most critical area, with scores falling 28 points in OECD countries and 16 points among non-OECD participants between 2015 and 2025. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann emphasizes that reading competencies are essential for finding, evaluating, interpreting, and reflecting on information in an increasingly digital world.
Ludger Woessmann, director of the ifo Centre for Education Economics in Munich, warns about the economic consequences of poor PISA performance. The basic competencies of the population are vital for economic productivity, individual income, and overall economic growth. The decline in mathematics and reading performance since the last study, conducted in 2022, equates to an average income loss of 3% to 4% in the long term. Compared to pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2018, this figure ranges from 9% to 10%. From a macroeconomic perspective, the German economy suffers losses in the trillions.
Researchers refuse to place the primary responsibility on the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that in many countries poor performance predated it. In reading, the weakest results coincide with increased digitalization, prolonged screen exposure, and declining rates of reading for pleasure. More than one in four students said that classmates were distracted by digital devices in most or all science classes, with this problem being cited by 31% of students in Portugal. The study warns
