Australia’s public school students continue to lag significantly behind their peers in independent schools, and classroom disruption remains among the most severe internationally, according to the latest results from the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa). The comprehensive global education survey, administered triennially to 15-year-olds in 91 countries, revealed ongoing declines in Australia’s academic performance, particularly in mathematics and reading.
Released on Tuesday by the Australian Council for Educational Research (Acer), the Pisa results showed that while Australia remains above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average overall, the trend over recent years is concerning. Government school students scored on average about 50 points fewer than those in independent schools across reading, mathematics, and science—an academic gap equivalent to roughly two and a half years of schooling.
Dr. Jonas Bertling, Acer’s research director, described Australia as a “strong international performer” but highlighted persistent challenges. These include a gradual decline in performance across the three core domains tested—mathematics, reading, and science—alongside ongoing inequalities based on socioeconomic status and gender. The report reaffirmed the well-established pattern that female students tend to outperform males in reading, while the reverse is true in mathematics. Science performance was found to be more balanced between genders.
Although Australia’s disciplinary climate has improved from a 2015 low point, it remains problematic relative to global standards. The nation ranked behind 68 countries and ahead of only 11 others in this area. Notably, 41% of Australian students reported frequent noise and disorder in classrooms, compared with the global average of 31%. Additionally, 39% said peers were often distracted by digital devices during lessons, surpassing the OECD average of 28%. Despite more than half of countries banning smartphones in schools, Australia’s experience suggests that other digital tools, such as laptops and tablets, may also contribute to in-class distractions.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare emphasized the need to reduce screen time in schools to improve outcomes, calling for a “digital detox.” He noted that students who use screens excessively tend to score lower on Pisa assessments, underscoring a connection between screen use and academic performance.
Australia’s international standing remains relatively stable, ranked 11th in science and reading and 17th in mathematics. These positions are largely consistent with the 2022 results, which had marked an improvement despite an overall downward trend nationally since 2018—the country’s worst performance year. Compared globally, Australia scored higher than the United States in all three subjects but ranked below the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
A new category introduced in the 2025 Pisa assessment—learning in the digital world—evaluated students’ ability to use digital tools for problem-solving and modeling. Australia ranked in the middle tier, trailing seven countries but maintaining a score 32 points above the OECD average.
East Asian nations—including Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and participating Chinese regions—led the global rankings, with Estonia also performing strongly.
The opposition’s shadow education minister, Julian Leeser, described the results as a “wake-up call” for the federal government. He highlighted the severity of recent declines in mathematics and reading scores and called for a tighter curriculum, better teaching practices, and improved classroom discipline to address the challenges facing Australian education.