PISA education study shows decline in European performance

On September 8, 2026, the OECD published the results of the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a test taken by over 760,000 15-year-old students in 91 countries in 2025.

France scored 458 points in mathematics (below the OECD average of 463) and 456 points in reading comprehension (below the OECD average of 461), placing 28th among the 91 education systems evaluated. Between 2022 and 2025, France's math performance declined by 16 points, compared to an average decline of nine points across the OECD. In other words, France's performance is declining more sharply and more rapidly than that of other developed countries.

The reading results are even more alarming: an 18-point loss in three years, compared to 14 points for the OECD average. In total, France has lost approximately 43 points since 2015. The OECD calculates one year of reading instruction to be worth approximately 20 points. This equates to nearly two years of learning lost in a decade.

The French Ministry of Education is a formidable institution. It employs 1.2 million people. Given its substantial workforce, one might expect the level of education to be high. However, this is not the case.

A similar decline has occurred in Germany. Since 2022, there has been an 11-point decline in math and a 15-point decline in reading scores. According to the Center for International Student Assessment in Munich, these three scores are the lowest Germany has seen since PISA's introduction in 2000.

Illustration: Ivan Aleksic (@ivalex) / Unsplash

1. OCDE, *PISA 2025 Results (Volume I)*, 8 septembre 2026. - https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/fr/publications/reports/2026/09/pisa-2025-results-volume-i_5265bfb1/72cbf7bd-fr.pdf ↩
2. French Ministry of National Education, Council of Ministers briefing, 2026 school year (1.2 million staff). ↩
3. TUM / ZIB, 8 septembre 2026. ↩