New PISA results show reading and math still collapsing worldwide. This is no longer a Covid dip.
The pandemic-era education collapse did not correct itself. It hardened.
The OECD’s newly released PISA 2025 results show 15-year-olds across developed nations still losing ground in the two disciplines that underwrite every other subject: reading and mathematics.
Across OECD countries, average reading scores fell 28 points from 2015 to 2025, from 489 to 461. The OECD equates that drop to about one and a half years of learning.
Math scores fell 22 points, from 485 to 463—the equivalent of just over one year of learning.
The collapse did not end when schools reopened. Reading fell another 25 points across the OECD between 2018 and 2025. Three-quarters of systems with comparable results lost ground.
“The weakening of performance predates the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, pointing to deeper and more persistent challenges within education systems.” — Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PISA 2025 recorded the assessment’s lowest OECD-average reading and mathematics scores. This is a generational failure, not a temporary Covid dip.
One in five 15-year-olds now ranks as a low performer in science, reading, and mathematics—up from 16% in 2022. They approach adult life without core skills to interpret text or solve ordinary problems.
Saagar Enjeti’s post flags the data behind the collapse. The trend rules out treating the crisis as a school-closure hangover alone.