Israel's PISA Scores Plummet to Historic Lows

New PISA test results for 2025 reveal a dramatic decline in academic achievement among Israeli 15-year-olds, with scores dropping significantly across reading, mathematics, and science. In reading, the average score fell by 38 points, mathematics by 25 points, and science by 23 points. While other OECD countries also saw declines, Israel's were considerably sharper. The steepest drop within Israel occurred among students in the state education system. This marks the lowest average scores for Israel since it began participating in the PISA study, though statistically similar to levels seen in 2006 and 2009.

The study, which surveyed over 760,000 students globally, found that 46% of Israeli students did not meet the basic proficiency level in mathematics, 41% in reading, and 40% in science. The percentage of high-achieving students in reading also halved, from 11% to 5%. The PISA 2025 results were collected in March and April 2025, during the ongoing war, with schools evacuated from the north and south excluded from the sample.

Beyond academic scores, the report highlighted significant issues with teaching quality and student engagement. School principals reported that unqualified or inadequately trained teachers hinder learning for 47% of students, compared to the OECD average of 25%. Furthermore, discipline and attendance are major concerns, with 37% of Israeli students reporting missing at least one full school day in the preceding two weeks, and 63% admitting to being late for classes. A striking 37% of students view school as a "waste of time."

Student use of artificial intelligence tools is also a point of concern, with 49% of students using AI weekly for tasks like summarizing texts or drafting assignments, higher than the OECD average. This suggests a potential decline in independent research and writing skills. Additionally, 19.7% of Israeli students' answers in reading were rushed and incorrect, more than double the OECD average.

Despite the overall decline, the report noted that ultra-Orthodox girls outperformed state-educated Hebrew-speaking girls in reading and showed no significant gap in math and science. The gap between high-achieving and low-achieving students has narrowed, but due to a sharper decline among top performers rather than an improvement for weaker students. Education Minister Yoav Kisch, who had previously promised significant improvements in future international tests, attributed past poor results to his timing of entering office and expressed confidence in upcoming positive changes, while also criticizing the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE) for allegedly leaking data.