France and Germany have recorded their worst results yet in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment, a test of how 15-year-olds use reading, mathematics and science skills to solve real-world problems. The assessment is led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and covers more than 80 countries.
The OECD published its PISA 2025 report on 8 September, drawing on a survey of approximately 760,000 15-year-old students in 91 countries and economies.
Across the OECD, average scores in all three subjects have reached their lowest point since 2015, when the current assessment method began. Reading scores fell by 28 points between 2015 and 2025, while mathematics fell by 22 points. Under OECD standards, each drop represents the equivalent of one to one and a half years' less learning.
The fall has increased the share of students struggling across the curriculum. Some 20% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries performed poorly in mathematics, reading comprehension and science, up from 16% in the 2022 assessment. Skills had already dropped sharply in 2022 compared with the 2018 study.
In Germany, results for 15-year-olds in all three subjects have fallen to record lows and now stand only around the OECD average. Academic performance among German students has been declining for more than a decade, with the downturn especially clear since 2018. Nearly half of German 15-year-olds say they read only when they are asked to.
French students also saw further falls from the 2022 evaluation: 16 points in mathematics, 18 points in reading comprehension and 4 points in science. France remains within the OECD average despite its lowest-ever PISA results. It hovers in 27th place in the global PISA rankings among EU member states.
The term “PISA shock” describes the experience of countries accustomed to strong school test results whose standards then plunge. Explanations cited for the broader decline include the COVID-19 crisis, widespread screen use and lower standards in teaching fundamental knowledge. The assessment does not establish how much each factor has contributed in France or Germany, or why some countries have fared better than others.
Within the EU, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Austria and Poland are the five highest performers in the global PISA rankings. Malta, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus are the five lowest-performing EU member states.
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