Israeli Students' PISA Scores Decline Amid Security Concerns and Global Trends

Official results from the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) standardized school exams, which measure the comparative academic performance of students across OECD countries, show a significant decline in Israeli students' scores. The exams, administered in March-April 2025, took place after three years of security tensions, including missile attacks, evacuations, and prolonged states of emergency, though before the "People as a Lion" operation in June. While Israeli students' performance had remained relatively stable between 2015 and 2022, the 2025 results reveal a substantial drop: 43 points in reading, 37 in mathematics, and 25 in science.

In the 2025 rankings among 38 OECD countries, Israeli students placed 31st in reading (down 5 spots from 2022) and 33rd in mathematics and science (down 2 and 1 spot, respectively). This relative stability in rankings, despite the score drop, is attributed to a broader decline in academic performance across OECD nations, particularly in Western countries. Analysts suggest this is due to a general decrease in "mental acuity" among students, with average OECD scores in reading and science having fallen since their peaks around 2012 and 2009, respectively. Mathematics scores remained more stable until 2018 before a sharp decline.

The OECD identified several interconnected reasons for this trend. These include difficulties with sustained concentration and deep reading, with performance on tasks requiring information retention and critical evaluation suffering the most. The proportion of students answering quickly and incorrectly rose from approximately 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2025. Performance also tended to decline towards the end of tests, suggesting reduced attention span, persistence, or motivation. Changes in reading habits, with adolescents engaging more with short, fragmented digital texts and less with long-form literature, and the impact of COVID-19 related remote learning, which affected knowledge acquisition and learning quality, are also cited.

Further contributing factors include deteriorating school discipline, with teachers spending more time managing classrooms, and a decrease in student engagement, with students reporting less effort put into the PISA test itself and lower levels of curiosity and persistence. Increased classroom heterogeneity, with more students from diverse backgrounds and with varying educational needs, also presents challenges. Overall, Israel's comparative ranking has returned to its 2018 level.

Analysis of gender differences shows that girls outperformed boys in reading and science, while boys slightly edged out girls in mathematics. Globally, among 90 participating countries, Israel's scores placed it around the middle, with China leading the rankings, particularly in mathematics and science. Neighboring countries and regions like the UAE, Iceland, and Vietnam scored higher than Israel in mathematics.