Global student performance in reading and mathematics has experienced a sharp decline, sparking alarm and urgent promises of reform across Europe following the release of the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. The newly published data, which evaluated more than 760,000 teenagers from dozens of countries last year, points to rising digital distractions and a marked drop in parental involvement as primary drivers of the downward trend.
While East Asian nations and territories including China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea dominated the top of the rankings, European nations presented a highly fragmented picture. Only Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Poland, and Czechia achieved mean performances above the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average. Conversely, Spain, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Romania, Cyprus, and Bulgaria fell below the OECD baseline in reading, mathematics, and science. The United Kingdom and New Zealand were also among the stronger performers globally.
The PISA report noted that the steepest drop occurred in reading comprehension, with average scores across OECD members plummeting by 28 points between 2015 and 2025. Surprisingly, students from wealthier families experienced the most significant declines. According to the report, this trend is particularly concerning given the demands of the modern era, stating that "Most troubling is the decline in the very skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources and thinking critically about what we read."
In France, Education Minister Édouard Geffray expressed deep concern over what he termed the "cognitive destruction" of the younger generation, stressing that the nation must immediately change its trajectory. Geffray highlighted the severe impact of mobile devices, noting that "Young people who spend three hours a day on their phones during class, who are distracted for more than three hours a day, are losing the equivalent of almost two school years," while deploring the "overconsumption of social networks." Speaking to the daily newspaper Le Monde, Geffray added that middle schools will serve as the "major focus of the next five-year term to implement the most effective teaching practices."
Spain also faced historic setbacks, recording its lowest-ever scores since PISA testing commenced in 2000. Spanish Education Minister Milagros Tolón identified weak reading comprehension as "the root of all educational problems." Speaking to Cadena Ser radio, Tolón emphasized that "We must continue working on reading comprehension, because it is the foundation of everything. If you don't understand what you read, it's impossible to solve a problem in math, physics, chemistry, or any other subject." To address this, Spain has been running cooperation programs since 2024 aimed at boosting both mathematics and reading comprehension skills.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands has experienced a decade-long decline, falling below the European average. Today, nearly four in 10 Dutch children are at risk of leaving school with a low level of literacy. In response, Junior Education Minister Judith Thielen announced that she would deliver an action plan this autumn. "It is my ambition to stop the downward trend and turn it around," Thielen stated. "I want to see better results in three years’ time."
An accompanying student survey shed light on the systemic reasons behind the falling scores, revealing a widespread decrease in family support for education compared to 2022, particularly for boys. This metric tracked how often parents discuss schoolwork or show interest in their children's learning. Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's director for education and skills, observed that "Parents see themselves more as a client of the school, not as someone who takes personal interest." This shift has measurable consequences: students whose families ask about their school day at least once a week scored about 35 points higher on the science test—equivalent to more than a year and a half of learning—even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences.
Digital distraction emerged as another major hurdle, with more than a quarter of students in high-income countries reporting that classmates were distracted by digital devices in most or all of their science classes. However, schools with strict mobile phone policies reported lower levels of distraction. Schleicher noted a clear link between recreational digital device usage and lower scores, though the effect of technology used for educational purposes was more complex. High school students who used digital devices for learning about two to three hours per day in school actually achieved higher test scores, but performance dropped significantly once screen time exceeded that threshold.
