Spain’s PISA scores fall to record lows as reading, maths and science decline

The findings, published on Tuesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), deepen concerns that the deterioration in educational attainment is not simply a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, but part of a longer-term decline that Spain has so far been unable to reverse.

The 2025 assessment involved approximately 760,000 students across 90 participating countries and economies, including almost 30,000 pupils from 956 schools throughout Spain. The majority of Spanish participants, 77%, were in the fourth year of compulsory secondary education (ESO).

PISA is designed to measure how effectively young people can apply what they have learned to real-life situations, rather than simply testing their knowledge of the school curriculum. It examines their ability to understand information, solve complex problems, think critically and communicate effectively.

A sharp decline in all three subjects

Spain’s average score in reading fell to 451 points, compared with an OECD average of 461. In mathematics, Spanish students scored 457 against an OECD average of 463, while the science result was 477, compared with 482 across the OECD.

The deterioration since the previous assessment in 2022 is substantial: Spain lost 23 points in reading, 16 in mathematics and eight in science. Looking further back to 2015, the cumulative decline amounts to 45 points in reading, 30 in mathematics and 16 in science.

The results place Spain below the OECD average in all three areas and, according to the report’s broader comparisons, below the European Union average in reading and mathematics. In science, Spain’s performance is below the OECD average but not significantly different from that of the EU as a whole.

The decline is particularly concerning because the previous PISA results, published in December 2023, had already revealed a marked deterioration following the disruption caused by the pandemic. The latest figures suggest that the problems have persisted rather than being resolved as schools returned to normal.

Reading suffers the greatest setback

Reading comprehension has emerged as Spain’s most serious weakness. The country’s performance has declined continuously over the past decade, with the latest results showing a particularly pronounced fall.

Around 68% of Spanish students can identify the main idea of a moderately long text, locate information using explicit criteria and reflect on its content. However, only 2% reach the highest levels of reading proficiency, compared with an OECD average of 6%. These advanced levels require students to understand and interpret lengthy, complex texts.

The OECD’s senior analyst and PISA coordinator, Tue Halgreen, described reading as ‘the gateway to the other subjects’, underlining the wider consequences of declining literacy for students’ ability to succeed across the curriculum.

Spain is not alone in experiencing this problem. Across OECD countries, average reading scores fell by 28 points between 2015 and 2025, a decline estimated to represent approximately a year and a half of learning.

The report also raises concerns about the changing environment in which young people learn, including the influence of digital devices and artificial intelligence (AI). These factors are identified as contributing to a broader deterioration in academic performance, particularly in reading, although the decline cannot be attributed to technology alone.

Mathematics and science also lose ground

Mathematics results show a continuing downward trajectory in Spain, with the decline becoming more pronounced in the most recent assessment period. The OECD average has also fallen over time, although its pattern has been less consistent and the latest decline has moderated.

Across OECD countries, mathematics performance has dropped by 22 points over the past decade, equivalent to slightly more than a year of learning.

In science, Spain’s decline has been less severe than in reading and mathematics, but the latest score nevertheless places the country below the OECD average. The report indicates that approximately half of Spanish students have a low level of scientific knowledge, while 28% demonstrate minimum competence, 16% reach an intermediate level and only around 5% attain excellent results.

Spain’s science performance is below that of countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, Poland, Belgium, Germany and Slovenia. Japan and Estonia are among the strongest performers internationally.

The wider OECD picture is also troubling, with approximately one in five 15-year-olds now performing at a low level across the core areas assessed by PISA.

Regional differences and concerns over Catalonia’s data

Although the national results have deteriorated, there remain substantial differences between Spain’s autonomous communities.

Madrid, Castilla y León, Asturias and Cantabria are among the strongest-performing regions, with results in several subjects exceeding both OECD and EU averages. Madrid leads the regional rankings in mathematics and science, while Asturias, Madrid and Castilla y León achieve particularly strong results in reading.

At the other end of the scale, Ceuta and Melilla record the weakest performances. The Basque Country and the Valencian Community have experienced especially sharp declines.

According to the second report, all 17 autonomous communities registered falls in the three core subjects, with the exception of Castilla-La Mancha in science.

The assessment has also generated controversy over the reliability of Catalonia’s results. The OECD has warned that the region’s data cannot be compared directly with those of other communities because of a high exclusion rate in the selection of participating students, reported at 23%.

The Spanish national report nevertheless included Catalonia’s results in the calculation of the overall state average. The issue has prompted political controversy and changes within the Catalan government’s education department.

Teacher shortages and an unfulfilled improvement plan

The poor results have renewed attention on the resources available to Spanish schools and the responsibilities of regional education authorities, which hold most of the country’s devolved powers in education.

Almost half of the headteachers at schools participating in the Spanish PISA assessment, 49%, reported a shortage of teachers. That is approximately 10 percentage points above the OECD average.

The shortage of support staff appears even more pronounced. Some 72% of Spanish headteachers said their schools did not have sufficient support personnel, compared with an OECD average of 39%.

Teachers have also protested in recent years over staffing levels, resources and working conditions, with strikes called at the beginning of the academic year in Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia.

The results come despite a government commitment to improve educational attainment following the previous PISA assessment. As reported by El País, an ambitious plan to strengthen reading and mathematics was announced after the poor results published in December 2023, but has not been implemented because the government has been unable to secure parliamentary approval for a new budget.

Education, Vocational Training and Sports Minister Milagros Tolón acknowledged the seriousness of the reading problem, describing reading comprehension as ‘the basis of all the problems’. She pledged to ‘continue working’ to halt the decline in the three principal subjects.

Positive findings on bullying, equity and school belonging

Despite the disappointing academic results, the PISA report identifies several areas in which Spain performs comparatively well.

Spanish students report lower exposure to school bullying than the OECD average, placing the country among those with a relatively low incidence of such behaviour.

The assessment also highlights Spain’s comparatively equitable education system. Students with a migrant background account for 20.3% of the school population, compared with an average of 16.7% in the countries used for comparison.

Spanish pupils also perform better than the OECD average in measures of attitudes towards learning, including curiosity and perseverance. Their reported sense of belonging at school and the value they attach to education are likewise comparatively strong.

These findings suggest that, while Spain faces a serious challenge in improving academic outcomes, its schools retain strengths in inclusion, student engagement and the wider educational environment.

A longer-term challenge for Spain’s education system

The latest results will intensify the debate over how Spain can reverse a decline that has continued across successive PISA assessments and through changes of government.

The OECD study, first conducted in 2000, has traditionally taken place every three years, although the assessment cycle is moving towards a four-year interval because of its increasing complexity.

For Spain, the central question is now whether the deterioration reflects weaknesses that require sustained structural reform, rather than short-term measures to recover learning lost during the pandemic.

With reading, mathematics and science all at their lowest recorded levels, the challenge facing education authorities is not only to improve Spain’s position in international rankings, but to ensure that young people leave compulsory education with the skills needed for further study, employment and everyday life.