PISA scores in math, reading and science reach their lowest OECD levels on record
State of Us · Friday, 11 September 2026
Why it matters
This is a major new cross-national indicator of worsening educational attainment, with the US decline providing a concrete domestic trend rather than an isolated school-level claim. The AI findings do not establish a simple positive or negative effect, so the result supports targeted evaluation and literacy instruction more clearly than either blanket adoption or blanket rejection.
What happened
PISA results from more than 760,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries show OECD scores in mathematics, reading and science at their lowest levels since the assessment began in the early 2000s. Reading declined by the equivalent of more than a year of schooling across OECD countries between 2015 and 2025; US reading scores fell by about 14 points from 2022 to 2025. The report also found that 86% of students use generative AI at least occasionally, but its relationship with performance was mixed: nonusers generally scored higher, weekly users who used it for learning performed roughly as well as nonusers, and frequent users with AI-literacy instruction scored slightly higher; New York City has imposed a one-year ban on student-facing generative AI in public elementary and middle schools while it evaluates which uses improve learning.
Previously
2022 — Germany recorded PISA scores of 475 points in mathematics, 480 in reading and 492 in science; 30% of students were below basic proficiency in mathematics, 25% in reading and 23% in science.(BILD.de)
2015 — Germany’s reported PISA reading score reached 509 points.(BILD.de)
2012 — Germany reached its reported PISA high points of 514 in mathematics and 524 in science.(BILD.de)
Players & places
- United States
- New York City
- OECD
- New York City Department of Education