Education

PISA 2025 Reveals East Asian Dominance, U.S. Scores 16th Overall

By Livemint

The OECD’s PISA 2025 results, released in September 2026, show a clear regional divide in the proficiency of 15‑year‑old students in mathematics, science and reading across 91 education systems. East Asian countries occupy all six of the top global spots. Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang—four prosperous Chinese regions—lead the world in both mathematics and science, a success attributed to academic discipline, rigorous curricula, strong teacher development and cultural attitudes toward effort and achievement. Singapore ranks first worldwide in reading.

The United States is placed 16th overall with an average score of 485. Subject scores reveal a disparity: American students scored 502 in science, 490 in reading, but only 463 in mathematics. A Brookings analysis notes that U.S. test scores have been declining since the 2010s, a trend accelerated by pandemic disruptions. North American schools also face widening socioeconomic disparities, chronic absenteeism and severe teacher shortages.

The draft ranking does not yet include placement data or scores for India, the United Kingdom and Russia. No African nations appear in the top 40, attributed to limited PISA participation and infrastructural challenges cited by UNESCO.