PISA report: Student scores decline amid rising screen time

A new report from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that reading, math and science scores among 15-year-olds have fallen across most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the past decade, Euronews reported.

Reading recorded the sharpest decline, falling 28 points since 2015. Math scores dropped 22 points, roughly equivalent to a year of lost learning, while science proved more resilient, posting the smallest decline.

Among EU nations, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Poland and Czechia were the only countries to score above the OECD average across all three subjects. Spain, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Romania, Cyprus and Bulgaria fell below average in all three.

Furthermore, the traditional gap between wealthier and disadvantaged students is narrowing, as advantaged students are losing ground faster. In reading, for example, advantaged students’ scores fell by 20 points, compared with just 4 points among disadvantaged students.

The report suggests the decline may be linked to increasing digitalization, longer screen time, and less reading for pleasure. Experts say today’s students show weaker skills in evaluating sources and thinking critically — skills the OECD considers vital in an AI-driven world. The report also noted that the number of «hasty readers,» who tend not to think deeply about what they have read, has nearly doubled since 2018.

Interestingly, higher education spending does not guarantee better results. Luxembourg, the OECD’s top education spender, scored lower in science than Ireland, France and Italy, despite spending more than twice as much per student.