Level of basic skills in reading and mathematics is lower in Spain than other OECD countries

The level of basic skills (reading comprehension, mathematics and problem solving) of the working-age population as a whole (16 to 65 years) is lower in Spain than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average. The OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and help to shape better policies for better lives.

In all three skills, Spain is in the bottom group of the five countries that have improved the least, along with the United States, Sweden, New Zealand and Slovakia. The gap between the skills of young Spaniards aged 25 to 34 and the OECD average is three times that of those aged 55 to 65. This is revealed in a report by the BBVA Foundation that analyses the progress made in education by generations and which was made public on Wednesday 8 October.

The increase in the gap can be attributed to the quality of training, measured as the skills acquired at the same level of educational attainment. In fact, for the same level of education, the 55-65 generation outperforms the OECD average in all three skills.

The most recent data from the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (Piaac-2023), a test similar to PISA but for basic skills in reading, mathematics and problem solving for the working-age population (16 to 65 years), allow a comparison of progress in skills across countries. Overall, Spain is below the average and occupies one of the bottom positions in all three areas: reading (with an index of 247 compared to the OECD average of 260), mathematics (250 and 263) and problem solving (241 and 251).

Reading literacy skills of the 25-34 age group are only 18.5 points higher than those of the older age group (55-65), compared to an OECD average improvement of 30.4 points between the two groups. In mathematics, skills have increased by 13.2 points between the two generations, below the average of 25.7 points and in problem solving, the difference of 17.4 points in Spain contrasts with the average of 29.7 points. In all three skills, Spain is among the five OECD countries that have improved their skills the least in recent decades.

Improvements in skills between generations in Spain have been increasingly weaker. In the case of mathematical skills, the 45-54 age group shows an improvement of 8.5 points compared to the 55-65 age group, but only 4.6 points between the 35-44 age group and the 45-54-year-olds and only 1.8 points between the 25-34 and the 35-44 age groups. The results are similar or even stronger for problem solving and reading skills.

The data also show a growing gap between Spain and the OECD average, with the skills gap widening among the younger generations. In the case of mathematics skills, the gap with respect to the OECD average is -6.3 points for the oldest group (those aged 55 to 65), but triples to -18.7 points for those aged 25 to 34. This pattern is also true for the other two skills.

Historically, in 1964 only 3.1% of the employed had university studies and 92% lacked secondary education, showing that the country has in fact followed a pattern similar to that of the OECD countries as a whole.

The positive effect generated by the increase in the number of people completing higher education (university and higher vocational education) has been limited by the negative effect of high early school leaving rates. In 2024, 52.6% of the population aged 25-34 had some form of further education qualification compared to an EU average of 44.2%. At the same time, 13% of 18-24 have not gone on to further education, compared to an EU average drop-out rate of 9.3%.

The data, according to the BBVA Foundation report, point to "the need to make additional efforts in education" and warn that the numerous educational reforms implemented since the 1980s, "all lacking in consensus", have not managed to reduce the gap with the rest of the OECD countries.

"The absence of an agreed, coherent and sustained education policy (unlike in other countries such as Finland) may have contributed to the poor results in the acquisition of basic skills," the analysis notes. In this sense, "it is worrying" that the difference in the quality effect with respect to the OECD average has grown over time.

The report points out that improvement "requires consensus and is a challenge for the entire education system". In this sense, it points out that "the improvement of quality depends fundamentally on elements of a more qualitative nature, such as the selection and training of teaching staff, school organisation and environment, student effort and the management and autonomy of educational centres".