Israeli students recorded their lowest scores to date in the 2025 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international exam administered by the OECD to assess the reading, mathematics, and science skills of 15-year-olds. The results, released on September 26, indicated a significant decline across all three subjects, marking the steepest drop since Israel began participating in the assessment in 2002.
Israel’s overall ranking placed it near the bottom among developed countries, finishing 31st out of 35 nations in combined proficiency measures. In mathematics, Israel ranked 33rd out of 38 OECD countries, scoring at a level comparable to Greece and trailing behind countries such as the United Arab Emirates, which, though not an OECD member, outperformed Israel. In science, Israel fell two places to 33rd, alongside Chile and Greece, while reading results showed the sharpest decline, dropping five places to 31st. The average reading score fell by 38 points from the previous assessment in 2022, reaching 436 compared with the OECD average of 461.
The report highlighted that only 32 percent of Israeli students reached the OECD-defined basic proficiency level across all tested areas, compared to 50 percent on average across member countries. This level is considered necessary for effective participation in modern society and the labor market. Nearly 70 percent of students scored below the proficiency threshold in at least one subject. In science, 40 percent of Israeli students did not meet basic proficiency, compared with 26 percent across the OECD. Mathematics and reading showed similar trends, with 46 percent and 41 percent of students falling below proficiency, respectively.
The OECD report cited factors such as widespread teacher shortages, with about half of schools reporting that a lack of qualified staff hindered instruction—a figure higher than the OECD average of 39 percent. Israel also ranked third for employing teachers who lack adequate qualifications in their subject areas. Additionally, the report pointed to challenges in students’ abilities to apply computational tools in real-world problem solving, where Israeli students scored an average of 444 versus the OECD average of 500.
Education Ministry officials characterized the results as a “catastrophic event on a historic scale.” They attributed the decline primarily to the disruption caused by ongoing conflicts, including the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. However, the OECD report noted that these explanations do not fully account for the decline and criticized the ministry for not addressing other structural issues cited in the findings.
The release of the results was marked by disagreement between the Education Ministry, led by Minister Yoav Kisch, and the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAMA). Coordination difficulties delayed publication until the final moment, with ministry sources reportedly attempting to influence the framing of the report to present the data more favorably. The ministry also questioned some of the OECD’s conclusions, arguing that the data relied on school principal surveys rather than official statistics.
The results reflect a reversal of nearly two decades of progress in Israeli education. Reading and mathematics scores have fallen to levels similar to those recorded in 2006, while science scores mirror those from 2009. Israeli policymakers and educators face increasing pressure to address these declines, which suggest challenges not only in educational outcomes but also in preparing youth for future societal and economic participation.