More than 760 000 students took the PISA science, mathematics and reading test in 2025 across 91 countries and economies, representing around 33 million 15-year-olds across the world. The highest performers in PISA 2025 across these three domains were the Chinese jurisdictions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Singapore. Additionally, Estonia, Japan, Korea, Macao (China), Chinese Taipei and the United Kingdom were among the top 10 performing education systems. The overall performance of OECD countries declined, with the lowest average levels of performance ever observed in science, reading and mathematics. However, there have been some improvements; for example, among OECD countries, Costa Rica, the Slovak Republic, Türkiye and the United Kingdom have seen increases in science scores since 2022. Overall reading scores saw particularly steep declines in the past three years, including in skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources and thinking critically about what we read. The instances of “hasty reading” - in which students read quickly but inaccurately - nearly doubled to 9% between 2018 and 2025.
PISA 2025 Results (Volume I)
Introduction
Key figures
46%
of students in OECD countries use AI chatbots weekly or more to help them learn
28%
of students in OECD countries say their fellow students are distracted by the use of digital devices during most or every science class
76%
of students in OECD countries feel they belong at school
Education performance continues to decline, with huge drops in reading
The PISA results reveal an uneven picture of educational performance, with learning outcomes largely stagnating or continuing to decline in many countries. In science, the main focus of PISA 2025, average scores fell modestly across OECD countries between 2015 and 2025, while remaining broadly stable in other countries and economies. In mathematics, average scores fell by 22 points between 2015 and 2025 across the OECD, with performance also declining among non-OECD members. Reading recorded the steepest drop, with scores falling by 28 points across OECD countries and by 16 points among other countries and economies between 2015 and 2025.
The relationship between AI use and student performance is complex
How AI use relates to student performance is complex, varying with how students use it and what for. PISA data show that students who use AI for specific schoolwork tasks, such as summarising texts, drafting or conducting research, attain lower scores in science than students who do not use AI. In these scenarios, students who do not use AI outperform those who do, on average, by around 20 points – equivalent to being around one year of schooling ahead of their peers. However, weekly users of AI for general purposes have similar performance outcomes to non-users. Students who regularly use AI for general purposes, and have learning opportunities at school to develop AI literacy skills, tend to have slightly higher scores in science. However, these opportunities are more common among socio-economically advantaged students, risking a growing AI divide.
Student sense of belonging at school improves
The extent to which learners feel included, accepted and connected to others is related to learning outcomes. According to PISA, students’ sense of belonging at school has improved since 2022. In 39 education systems, a larger share of students reported feeling that they belong at school. On average across OECD countries, 76% of students reported feeling that they belong at school. The share reached 90% in Spain, followed by Japan. At the other end of the scale, 64% or less felt they belong at school in Denmark, Poland, Italy and Lithuania. Girls reported a significantly weaker sense of belonging than boys, and socio-economically disadvantaged students report feeling less like they belong than advantaged classmates.
Solid computational problem-solving skills are widespread
PISA 2025 introduced a new assessment focusing on 15-year-olds’ computational problem-solving skills, examining their capacity to use modelling and programming tools, conduct experiments and build, design and develop digital products. Although there is no formal baseline proficiency threshold on this scale, Level 3 marks the point at which students begin to demonstrate sufficiently solid knowledge and skills to progress rapidly. About two-thirds of students across OECD countries performed at Level 3 or above, and around a quarter reached the two highest proficiency levels (Levels 5 or 6). Students in Macao (China), Singapore and the Chinese provinces/municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang had the highest mean scores (572, 563 and 560 mean score points, respectively). The average score among OECD countries is 500 score points.
Over half of students may be vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation
Students live in environments in which information from unreliable sources is abundant and often difficult to distinguish from trustworthy evidence. In this context, it is not enough for students simply to endorse fact-checking in the abstract. They also need to learn when and how to weigh evidence, question intuitive claims and judge the reliability of different types of information. On average across OECD countries, fewer than half of students (46%) reported both checking the credibility of information sources and placing greater trust in scientific evidence than in common sense. By contrast, 37% reported checking sources but relying on common sense, while 11% reported trusting scientific evidence without verifying sources. A further 5% reported neither checking sources nor prioritising scientific evidence. This suggests that a large share of 15-year-olds may be vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation.
Conclusion
Preparing young people to thrive and lead in a rapidly changing world requires more than strong academic proficiency. As lifelong learning, upskilling and reskilling become increasingly important, students need the motivation, agency and learning strategies that enable them to take ownership of their learning throughout their lives. The findings from PISA 2025 show that these dimensions of engagement are not only positively associated with student performance, but also reinforce one another. Their relationship is also reflected in recent trends: across many education systems, setbacks in academic performance have coincided with weakening engagement among students. The report further highlights that students are more likely to succeed when they feel a sense of belonging, value the role of schooling, and learn in safe, supportive and well-resourced environments. Strong relationships with families and teachers also play a critical role in supporting both engagement and achievement. Taken together, these findings underscore the need for education systems to adopt a holistic approach to learning, one that values both proficiency and engagement, and ensures that all students have the support, opportunities and resources needed to reach their full potential in school and beyond.
Country profiles
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- J - M
- N - R
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