U.S. Student Achievement in PISA 2025 Results

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released the ‘PISA 2025 Results,’ revealing how dozens of countries outperformed the United States in student achievement. According to the report, American 15-year-olds scored 490 in reading and 463 in math on PISA exams. These assessments are conducted every three years globally to 15-year-olds, with 760,000 students representing around 33 million individuals from 91 countries participating.

Performance by Country

Singapore excelled in reading with a score of 535, followed by China with 527. In math, China led with an impressive 612, with Singapore scoring 563. Chinese results were based on four regions: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Taiwan, examined separately as ‘Chinese Taipei,’ surpassed the U.S. in both subjects.

The countries including Japan, Korea, and Estonia outdid the United States in both reading and math. Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand scored higher in reading. Several countries like Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Italy, and Sweden outperformed the U.S. in math.

Global Ranking in Education Systems

China’s jurisdictions, along with Singapore, Japan, Estonia, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and the UK, ranked among the top ten globally in science, reading, and math. Despite U.S. students scoring above average in reading and science across 38 OECD countries, their math performance hovered around the average.

10-Year Performance Decline

A decline in academic performance began long before the pandemic. Scores in OECD countries fell between 2015 and 2025. Math scores decreased significantly from 485 to 463. Reading saw the largest drop, going from 489 to 461 points among OECD, and from 428 to 412 among non-OECD participants. The percentage of low-performing students increased to 20 percent across OECD countries.

Reading scores dropped in three-quarters of education systems, losing 25 points across the OECD. The share of ‘hasty readers’ doubled, with wealthier students experiencing steeper losses, thus narrowing the socioeconomic gap.

Why the U.S. Climbed the Rankings

America rose in rankings due to faster declines elsewhere, despite its own scores falling. Reading scores neared a 25-year low, and math ranks among the lowest since PISA started in 2000. While the improvement was relative, U.S. teenagers performed well in science, computational problem-solving, and took the exam seriously compared to peers.

Still, the U.S. sample size was fairly low, and many students didn’t finish accompanying questionnaires. The missing data and a Department of Education pause impeded accurate bias assessment of U.S. scores.

Influence of AI and Classroom Distractions

Approximately 25 percent of students noted classmates were distracted by digital devices during science lessons. Moderate device use correlated to higher scores, while leisure use reduced performance. Advantageous use of AI for learning surfaced, enhancing scores, whereas heavy reliance resulted in lower scores. Bullying affected scores negatively.

Certain countries showed improvement; Türkiye increased its science score significantly over ten years, with other nations like Costa Rica and Slovakia posting rising OECD science results.