Spain's Pisa education study results 'among the lowest on record'

"Compared with 2015, the proportion of pupils with low achievement rose by 11% in maths, 15% in reading and 6% in science," the report says. Compared with 2022, average results were lower in maths and reading, while they remained stable in science.

One thing is difficult to oversee: the results "were among the lowest ever recorded in Spain across all three subjects".

In all three subjects, Spanish students were close to the median but below all European countries except Greece and, in reading, the Netherlands. The "proportion of pupils performing at a high level in at least one of the subjects" was also below average, but in line with the average for "minimum proficiency in all three subjects". and for "computational problem-solving".

The report states that "the decline in 2025 (in Spain) is part of a long-term downward trend that began in 2015". However, when the results of all Pisa assessments are taken into account, "the long-term decline occurred only among low-performing pupils, leading to a widening gap compared with high-performing pupils, whose scores remained stable throughout the decade".

With 29,967 students from 956 schools taking part, the study found that "in many cases, the decline observed in just three years exceeded 20 points", equivalent to the annual gain in test scores typically seen among students around the age of 15, the report explains.

The study is based on a "two-hour cognitive test" covering two subjects for each pupil. "This means that, in 2025, 15-year-old pupils achieved scores equal to or lower than those expected for 14-year-old pupils in 2022".

Spain is among the countries experiencing declines in reading performance, along with Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Norway and Sweden.

In science, 76% of Spanish students reached the required level, meaning they "can recognise the correct explanation for scientific phenomena and use such knowledge to identify, in simple cases, whether a conclusion is valid based on the data provided".

Of these, 4% achieved the top grade, "able to apply their knowledge of science creatively and independently to a wide variety of situations, including those with which they are unfamiliar".

The results were worse in reading: 68% were able to "identify the main idea of a text of moderate length, locate information based on explicit, albeit sometimes complex, criteria and reflect on the purpose and form of texts when explicitly asked to do so".

However, barely 2% were "able to understand long texts, tackle abstract or counter-intuitive concepts and distinguish between facts and opinions based on implicit clues relating to the content or source of the information".

In mathematics, the number of disadvantaged students achieving outstanding results also fell, with Spain one of only four countries to record a decline on this particular measure.

One of the more positive findings for Spain, which performed above the OECD average on this measure, concerns the ability of the public education system to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

According to the results, 13% of these students reached the top quarter of performers in science. The report considers these students to demonstrate "academic resilience" because they have achieved educational excellence compared with other students in their own country. The OECD average is 12%.

68% of students said they make an extra effort when work becomes difficult, 3.3% less than in 2022, although still above the OECD average of 60%. Meanwhile, 18% believe school is a waste of time, compared with an OECD average of 24%.

43% of students said they usually plan their studies, compared with an OECD average of 37%.

78% said they ask their teachers for help and 84% said they ask their classmates, compared with OECD averages of 77% and 82% respectively.

49% of students attended schools whose headteachers reported shortages of teaching staff and support staff. The OECD averages for both categories were 39%. "The prevalence of perceived teacher shortages in Spain increased compared with 2022, when it stood at 41%," the report says.

Headteachers at schools attended by 26% of students also reported shortages of educational resources such as books and computers.

29% of students said their classmates are often distracted by the use of digital devices, compared with an OECD average of 28%. At schools where mobile phones are banned (attended by 86% of students) the likelihood of such distractions occurring is 13% lower.

Students said they spent an average of 1.4 hours a day using digital devices at school for learning and leisure. The corresponding OECD averages were 1.7 and 1.1 hours respectively.

39% of students said noise and disorder disrupt science lessons, compared with an OECD average of 31%.

Students reported using AI for research (42%, compared with an OECD average of 31%), summarising texts (40%, compared with 30%) and writing (33%, compared with 29%). Only 8% said they never or almost never use AI, compared with an OECD average of 14%.

14% of students said they had been victims of bullying several times a month, compared with an OECD average of 20%.

74% of students felt that their science teachers show an interest in their learning, compared with an OECD average of 69%. 67% said teachers continue teaching until they understand, compared with 66% across the OECD, while 71% said they receive additional help, compared with an OECD average of 73%. Ten years ago, all these figures were between two and four percentage points higher.

39% said noise and disorder interrupt science lessons, compared with an OECD average of 31%, while 30% said their classmates do not listen to the teacher, compared with 29% across the OECD.

Pisa assessments use an "index" that places students from countries such as Rwanda and Spain on the same socio-economic scale, allowing their performance to be compared. "The socio-economic index is a strong predictor of performance in science across all countries," the report explains.

In Spain, 44% of students (the highest proportion) were in the top international quartile of the socio-economic scale, meaning they were among the most advantaged students.

These "advantaged" students achieved 71 points more in science than students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

That gap is smaller than the average difference between the two groups across OECD countries, where it stands at 85 points.

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