Israeli Students Show Alarming Deficiencies in Math, Science, and English

New internal draft reports from Israel's National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAE) reveal a deeply concerning picture of student performance, echoing recent poor results on the international PISA exam. The RAE data, which has not yet been officially validated, indicates that only 3% of ninth graders fully met the curriculum standards in science and technology. An additional 16% were close to meeting the standards, while a staggering 81% fell far short.

In elementary schools, the situation is similarly dire. For sixth graders, fewer than 40% met the required proficiency levels in mathematics, and only 37% achieved this in English. Furthermore, a new RAE assessment for Arab schools showed that only 20% of sixth graders fully mastered Hebrew, highlighting significant language acquisition challenges within the Arab community from an early age.

The release of these draft findings follows a period of intense internal conflict, particularly involving Education Minister Yoav Kisch. Kisch had previously attempted to limit the publication of "Mytzav" (the Israeli national assessment) science results, dismissing them as "garbage data" and accusing RAE officials of illegal data leaks and political maneuvering.

Kisch and his supporters have argued that the poor performance, both in national and international tests, is largely attributable to the impact of the ongoing war and the unique security situation in 2025, suggesting that reforms initiated by the ministry will only show results in future testing cycles. However, critics within the education system point to the PISA results, which showed Israel dropping significantly in reading, math, and science, alongside reports from principals about a severe shortage of qualified teachers, as evidence of a systemic crisis extending beyond security circumstances.