Australia's reading and math results are at an 'all‑time low'—but there's more to the story

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Results from the latest international test of 15-year-olds have prompted another round of headlines suggesting there are serious problems with Australia's academic results. Some outlets reported Australian reading and math results in the PISA tests have taken a "plunge" and sunk to an "all-time low." At the same time, headlines have lamented "Australia's classroom disruption [is] among worst in world." As someone who has researched PISA for 25 years from three different countries (Norway, England and Australia), what do the results tell us beyond the punchy headlines?

PISA stands for the Programme for International Student Assessment. It's an international survey comparing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students across 91 OECD countries. It also involves a survey of students about their classroom experiences.

PISA is conducted every three years and aims to assess how effectively students can transfer lessons learned in school to the real world. The tasks in PISA are less about memory and more focused on students' ability to analyze and solve problems. PISA tests students in three main domains: mathematics, science and reading literacy.

In 2025, it also added a new area: learning in the digital world, which tested digital skills. In the latest round, conducted in 2025, 91 countries and 760,000 students participated. This makes PISA the largest education survey in the world.

In Australia, 766 schools from all states and territories and 14,658 students participated. Despite the alarmist headlines, in 2025 Australian students maintained above-OECD-average scores in reading, science and mathematics. The report ranked Australia in 11th place for reading and science and 17th in math.

In reading, Australian 15-year-olds scored an average of 491 points, compared with the OECD average of 461. In math, Australian students recorded an average score of 478, compared with the OECD average of 463. Australian students' science scores were strong.