Israeli schoolchildren post worst-ever PISA results
In Israel, 15-year-old students recorded the lowest results in the country’s history of participation in the international PISA assessment in mathematics, reading and science. The data were released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, while Israeli Ministry of Education officials described the results as catastrophic, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Decline in all three areas
Compared with the previous 2022 PISA cycle, Israel dropped eight places in science, seven in reading and six in mathematics. In science, the country ranked 44th, while the assessment was conducted in at least 90 countries.
In the reading and mathematics rankings among 44 OECD countries, Israel ranked 37th and 43rd, respectively. In the mathematics ranking, only Albania placed below Israel. The 2025 results in all three areas were also significantly lower than those of 2018, 2015 and 2012.
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Share of students with basic skills
In mathematics, 54% of Israeli students reached at least PISA Level 2, while the OECD average was 65%. High results — Level 5 or 6 — were demonstrated by around 5% of participants in Israel, compared with an OECD average of 8%.
In science, around 60% of students reached at least Level 2, compared with an average of 74% among OECD countries. The share of students with the highest results was 4%, compared with 7%. In reading, around 59% of schoolchildren in Israel reached the basic level or higher, while the OECD average was 69%; 5% of participants reached Level 5 or higher, compared with an average of 6%.
Compared with 2015, the share of Israeli students scoring below Level 2 increased by 14 percentage points in mathematics and reading, as well as by nine points in science. The OECD noted that Israel’s data met PISA quality standards and were suitable for reporting.
