source : the age
Australian high school students have recorded their worst maths and reading results in international tests, and 15-year-olds are now two and a half years behind teenagers who went to school at the turn of the millennium.
Programme for International Assessment (PISA) results show nearly a quarter of all NSW students are now classified as “low performers” in maths while that figure rises to 29 per cent in reading. Science results have flatlined.
The declines in reading and mathematics results reflect a broader global trend as policymakers grapple with the rise of AI chatbots, fewer students engaging in sustained reading and the rise of digital distractions in the classroom.
Australia ranked 11th in the world for reading and science and 17th for mathematics in the tests, which were sat by 760,000 pupils in 91 countries last year. Some 15,000 Australian students were assessed.
In mathematics, Australia was outperformed by Singapore, Poland and the United Kingdom, while for reading, students in New Zealand, Ireland and Estonia all recorded higher scores. In science, students from participating Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) were the top performers, followed by Singapore and Macao.
The standout success story was the United Kingdom, which leapt three places in reading, four places in mathematics and seven places in science.
Australia and NSW both maintained results above the OECD average in all domains, but that was because other countries’ performance suffered sharper declines, including in reading.
“In reading, increased digitalisation, longer screen time and falling rates of reading for enjoyment have coincided with weaker literacy outcomes,” OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann said.
“Countries with the largest declines in reading also tended to record the largest drops in mathematics and science.
“This trend is particularly concerning because reading skills underpin learning across the curriculum and are essential for finding, evaluating, interpreting and reflecting on information in an increasingly digital world.”
PISA assesses how well school systems have prepared 15-year-olds, who are nearly finishing their compulsory education, to meet real-world challenges. The tests are held every three years.
A persistent gender gap continued in reading, with girls one and a half academic years ahead of boys. The number of Australian students classified as “low performers” has grown from 12 per cent in 2000 to 23 per cent last year.
PISA national project manager for the Australian Council for Education Research Lisa De Bortoli said the decline in students’ results in NSW was not as severe as in some other states and territories.
“Even if we look at maths decline, it is not as large as some of the other jurisdictions,” she said.
In NSW, girls’ mathematics results declined at a faster rate than boys, while reading scores declined more for boys compared to when students last sat the test in 2022.
The proportion of NSW low performers in reading has grown from 10 per cent when tests began to 24 per cent last year. In science, it has grown from 11 to 18 per cent while for mathematics, the figure rose to 29 per cent.
Education Minister Prue Car said the government was committed to improving outcomes in NSW schools, including rolling out a knowledge-rich curriculum, putting more qualified teachers in classrooms and lifting discipline standards.
“While NSW continues to perform above the OECD average, there is more work to do,” she said.
“We’ve also made it clear that technology should support student learning, not distract from it. We’ve banned mobile phones, and we’re examining ways to ensure students’ use of classroom technology strikes the right balance and is age-appropriate.”
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare singled out the United Kingdom for its stellar results, saying he was rolling out similar reforms in all Australian states and territories, with a $20 billion increase to school funding over five years tied to a suite of reforms including implementing phonics and numeracy screening checks.
“The UK results are impressive. It’s also hard-earned. It’s something almost 20 years in the making,” he said.
“Reform is hard and it takes time to shift the needle, but it’s not impossible. That’s what the UK results show and what the agreements we have signed with every state and territory are all about.”
Catherine McAuley Westmead’s head of science, Grant Johnson, said the subject required students to be proficient in literacy and numeracy to be successful.
“We focus a lot on critical thinking – in terms of STEM careers – if you aspire to be a problem solver and critical thinker, science will give you that in spades,” he said.
How it is being taught has changed in recent years as more teachers embrace explicit teaching – which is clearly explaining concepts to students rather than the inquiry-based learning trend of the past decade.
“We have gone full circle – we are back to explicit teaching. You need to inquire based on a solid foundation. You need to know stuff to solve problems.”
Between 2022, when Australian students last sat the tests, and 2025, results were largely stable across Catholic and private school sectors. However, public school results declined in reading and mathematics.
Boys and girls performed at similar levels in science, while in mathematics, boys were almost a full academic year ahead of girls. But that was reversed for reading, with girls ahead by one and a half academic years.
First Nations students performed lower than non-First Nations students by 72 points in science, 76 points in reading and 74 points in mathematics. Students with a parent born overseas performed about 16 points higher than Australian-born students across all assessment domains.
Students from the highest quartile of socioeconomic advantage were four years ahead in science and mathematics (80 points) and almost four years in reading (74 points).
Compared to the previous time students sat the test, the results of students with low-socioeconomic status remained stable, but the performance of students from the top quartile declined in all three domains by between 12 and 21 points.
That was a trend mirrored around the world, OECD director for education and skills Andreas Schleicher said.
“The biggest surprise is who fell furthest behind,” he said. “It was not the most disadvantaged students, but those from wealthy families. This finding points to a much broader challenge than inequality alone.”
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