PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): United States
Table of contents
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the knowledge, skills and attitudes of 15-year-old students. The tests explore how well students can solve complex problems, think critically and communicate effectively; data collected through questionnaires describe the context in which students learn. This gives insights into how well education systems are preparing students for real life challenges and future success. The United States has participated in PISA since 2000. By comparing results internationally, policy makers and educators in the United States can learn from other countries’ policies and practices.
Notes: Due to missing data, not all countries and economies are included in every dimension. For each dimension, the top country/economy and the OECD average are highlighed.
Definitions: Percentage of students scoring above a baseline level of proficiency: students scoring at or above Level 2 in science, mathematics and reading; at or above Level 3 in computational problem solving.
Source: Figure I.1.2.
An interactive dashboard is available at https://www.oecd.org/en/data/dashboards/pisa-education-and-skills.html
Notes on data quality in PISA 2025
This edition of PISA includes data from 91 countries and economies. While the vast majority of countries and economies met PISA’s technical standards, a small number did not. In particular, caution is required when interpreting results of countries and economies mentioned in this note with an asterisk (*) next to their names: their results could be affected by greater uncertainty, or even be biased, because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met. For more information, see the Reader’s Guide in PISA 2025 Results, Volume I and Chapter 18 (Data Adjudication) in the PISA 2025 Technical Report.
In the United States, student response rates in 2025 fell below the minimum target, and student exclusions exceeded the tolerance set by PISA technical standards. School participation rates also fell short of the target. Range-of-bias analyses based on best- and worst-case scenarios suggest that both school non-participation and student non-response could meaningfully affect results. In the most extreme cases, school non-participation could lead to differences of up to about ±15.4% of a standard deviation, and, separately, student non-response could produce differences of up to ±15.9% of a standard deviation. Based on the available information, it is not possible to rule out bias in PISA performance results, nor to determine its most likely direction. Furthermore, over 40% of responding students in the United States were not administered the student questionnaire. This is due in roughly equal parts to decisions made at the state level, which resulted in systematic gaps in coverage for questionnaire results, and to mechanisms that can be expected to be unrelated to student characteristics (such as schools testing early in the testing window, when questionnaire administration was suspended at the national level). For this reason, this note does not include results based on information collected through questionnaires.
Note: White dots indicate mean scores that are not statistically significantly above/below PISA 2025 mean scores. An interactive version of this figure is available at https://www.oecd.org/en/data/dashboards/pisa-education-and-skills/performance-trends.html.
Source: Tables I.B1.2a.36-38
Average 2025 results in the United States were about the same as in 2022 in mathematics and science, and lower than in 2022 in reading.
In science, results have remained stable throughout all PISA assessment, with only small, and non-significant fluctuations, in results. In reading and mathematics, however, the most recent results are below those observed in 2018, and among the lowest ever observed in PISA in the United States.
Over the most recent period (2022 to 2025), the gap between the highest-scoring students (10% with the highest scores) and the weakest students (10% with the lowest scores) did not change significantly in mathematics, reading and science.
Compared to 2015 the proportion of low-performing students (scoring below proficiency Level 2) increased by six percentage points in mathematics; increased by seven percentage points in reading; and did not change significantly in science.
Students in the United States scored close to the OECD average in mathematics, and higher than the OECD average in reading and science (Figure 3).
More students in the United States than on average across OECD countries were top performers (Level 5 or 6) in at least one subject. At the same time, a similar proportion of students than on average across OECD countries achieved a minimum level of proficiency (Level 2 or higher) in all three subjects (Figure 4).
In computational problem solving, the mean score of students in the United States was higher than the OECD average (Figure 3).
The United States, OECD average and selected comparison countries/economies
Notes: Comparison countries/economies include the highest-performing countries and economies overall and the highest-performing OECD countries; for comparisons with all remaining PISA 2025 participants, see source Tables and Figures. Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with mean scores (the 95% confidence interval).
The United States and OECD average
Source: Tables I.B1.2a.10-12
Some 78% of students in the United States attained Level 2 or higher in science (OECD average: 74%). At a minimum, these students can recognize the correct explanation for familiar scientific phenomena and can use such knowledge to identify, in simple cases, whether a conclusion is valid based on the data provided. Over 85% of students in top performers B-S-J-Z (China), Macao (China), Singapore, Estonia, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Korea (in descending order of that share) performed at this level or above.
In the United States, 13% of students were top performers in science, meaning that they were proficient at Level 5 or 6 (OECD average: 7%). These students can creatively and autonomously apply their knowledge of and about science to a wide variety of situations, including unfamiliar ones.
In the United States, 65% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics (OECD average: 65%). At a minimum, these students can interpret and recognize, without direct instructions, how a simple situation can be represented mathematically (e.g. comparing the total distance across two alternative routes, or converting prices into a different currency).
Some 8% of students in the United States were top performers in mathematics, meaning that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA mathematics test (OECD average: 8%). The largest shares of students attaining Level 5 or 6 were observed in Seven Asian countries and economies: B-S-J-Z (China) (54%), Singapore (37%), Chinese Taipei (32%), Macao (China) (29%), Korea (23%), Japan (22%) and Hong Kong (China) (21%). At these levels, students can model complex situations mathematically, and can select, compare and evaluate appropriate problem-solving strategies for dealing with them. In 13 countries and economies participating in PISA 2025, more than 10% of students attained Level 5 or 6 proficiency.
Some 74% of students in the United States attained Level 2 or higher in reading (OECD average: 69%). At a minimum, these students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find information based on explicit, though sometimes complex criteria, and can reflect on the purpose and form of texts when explicitly directed to do so. The share of 15-year-old students who attained minimum levels of proficiency in reading (Level 2 or higher) varied from 93% in B-S-J-Z (China) to 4% in Rwanda.
In the United States, 13% of students scored at Level 5 or higher in reading (OECD average: 6%). These students can comprehend lengthy texts, deal with concepts that are abstract or counterintuitive, and establish distinctions between fact and opinion, based on implicit cues pertaining to the content or source of the information.
The PISA 2025 survey focused on science, with mathematics and reading as minor areas; an assessment of learning in the digital world measured students’ computational problem-solving skills and their ability to self-direct their learning in a digital environment. Results for science, mathematics, reading and computational problem solving are released on 8 September 2026 and analyses of students’ self-directed learning in 2027.
Over 760 000 students took the assessment in 2025, representing about 33 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 91 participating countries and economies.
In the United States, 4 625 students, in 144 schools, completed the assessment, representing about 3 580 000 15-year-old students (an estimated 85% of the total population of 15-year-olds).
PISA students are aged between 15 years 3 months and 16 years 2 months at the time of the assessment, and they have completed at least 6 years of formal schooling. In this note, they are referred to as 15-year-old students.
Students took a two hour test, and each student was tested in two subjects. Different students were given different test questions and different combinations of subjects (e.g. science followed by reading, or mathematics followed by science, etc.). Test items were a mixture of multiple-choice questions and questions requiring students to construct their own responses.
Students also answered a background questionnaire, which took about 35 minutes to complete. The questionnaire sought information about the students themselves, their attitudes, dispositions and beliefs, their homes, and their school and learning experiences. School principals completed a questionnaire about school management, organisation, and the learning environment.
Some countries/economies also distributed additional questionnaires, to students, parents and/or teachers, to elicit more information. The findings from these optional questionnaires are not covered by this note.
Contact
For more information about PISA 2025 visit www.oecd.org/pisa
Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using http://gpseducation.oecd.org.
Questions can be directed to the PISA team at the Directorate for Education and Skills: edu.pisa@oecd.org.
This note was written by Francesco Avvisati (OECD Directorate for Education and Skills).
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The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Future-Ready Students, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/73451bc5-en.
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