Every three years the OECD gives the same test to 15-year-olds around the world. It measures how well students can apply what they have learned in reading, math and science to real-world situations. The 2025 results are out. Here is what they say about the United States — with one important warning attached.
The short version
- 01American 15-year-olds score above the OECD average in science and reading, and below it in maths.
- 02Over ten years the US held up better than most: science edged up while the OECD average fell.
- 03But the gap between richer and poorer pupils is one of the widest measured.
- 04Pupils from immigrant families outscore their classmates — the reverse of the OECD pattern.
- 05A serious caveat: barely half of selected schools took part, and most background data is flagged unreliable.
Read These Figures with Care
The OECD flags the United States for limited reporting. Only 45% of selected schools took part before replacements, rising to 54% after, and the OECD says it cannot rule out bias in the results or even determine which direction it runs in. More seriously for the tables below, over 40% of responding American students were never given the background questionnaire, so everything drawn from it — the equity, engagement, AI, wellbeing and support figures — is printed 'below the line' in the report. Treat the four test scores as solid and everything else as indicative.
Where the US Stands, Subject by Subject
PISA scores sit on a scale built around 500 points. Above that, a country is doing better than the average of the world's developed economies; below it, worse. The US is comfortably above all four:
Science
Where USA sits on the scale
USA scores 20 points above the OECD average in science. The lowest-scoring country is on 317; the four Chinese provinces at the top of the table are on 597.
Sciences
In science, the US ranks higher than the OECD average.
Reading
In reading, US students also rank higher than the OECD average.
Math
In math, the US scores close to the OECD average.
Top performers
More American students were top performers in at least one subject than most OECD countries.
A Wide gap
The gap between children from wealthy and low-income families is one of the widest among comparable countries
Teens rarely ask for help
American teenagers believe that hard work leads to progress, but they rarely ask for help.
The Real American Academic Story
One of the most striking patterns in the 2025 assessment is that the US ranks above average in science (502 PISA points vs. 482 OECD average) and in the other categories, yet shows significant gaps in the non-academic factors that predict sustained achievement and well-being.
Help
Girls ask for help more than boys
American girls generally report higher help-seeking behavior compared to boys, yet overall help-seeking remains lower than optimal.
Goal setting
Teens set few goals
Goal-setting behavior remains inconsistent in the US
Family Support
Family involvement in school
Family involved shows significant variation by socioeconomic status, with disadvantaged families reporting less capacity to provide academic support.
Classroom environment
A decline in the classroom environment
Of students in OECD countries, a significant proportion say their fellow students are distracted by the use of digital devices during most or every science class. US classrooms report similar challenges with digital distraction and reduced focus compared to OECD averages.
Teacher shortages
Four in ten students are in under-staffed schools
In 2025, on average across OECD countries, around four out of ten students were in schools where principals reported that instruction was hindered by a lack of teachers. Shortages of staff are found more in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools than in advantages schools.
Ten years on
Change between 2015 and 2025
Science
Reading
Maths
Bars show falls; a score that rose or held steady has no bar. Source: OECD, PISA 2025, Table I.2.9.
The US and the OECD average are very close with only a 20 point difference. The gap between the US and the four Chinese provinces included in the study exceeds 95 points.
Six countries are marked with an asterisk in this report:
Canada*
The Netherlands*
New Zealand*
Noway*
USA*
Albania*
It points out that the test was not administered under entirely reliable conditions. In New Zealand, just over half of the randomly selected schools participated, and the OECD estimates that its results may be overestimated by 10 to 15 points;
Comparisons with these six countries should be made with caution.
The Real Dropout Problem Isn't in the Sciences
Over the past ten years math and science scores have remained more or less stable. Reading, on the other hand, have decreased — and much more rapidly in the US than in other developed countries.
Change in the share of American pupils below the basic level in science since 2022.
Change in the share reaching the top grades in science over the same period.
+4 points
Science in the United States edged up over the past decade, while the OECD average fell 7 points and Germany lost 24. On the measure that matters most for long-run comparison, American schools held their ground where most of the developed world did not.
The Separation Between Affluent Children From Low-Income Families
This is one of the widest gaps among comparable countries. In other words: in the US, parent's occupations and educational backgrounds have a greater impact on their children's academic performance than in other countries.
Who gets left behind
Score gap between the richest and poorest quarter of pupils
A smaller number means a fairer system. Background explains 11% of the difference in USA science results, against 11.6% across the OECD. 10.8% of poorer pupils there still reach the higher grades, against 11.9% OECD-wide.
Boys Read Less Well — but This Is True Everywhere, Not Just in the US
In reading, American girls outperform boys by about 24 points. That's slightly below the OECD average of 30 points, and in mathematics, boys outperform girls by 24 in the US — nearly double the OECD average gap of 13 points.
Girls and boys
Who is ahead, and by how much
Science
Reading
Maths
A negative number means girls are ahead; a positive number means boys are.
The Influence of Digital Devices in Schools
Of American pupils are in schools where phones are not allowed. The OECD average is 49.5%.
Are taught in class how to judge whether AI-generated information is true. The OECD average is 62.6%.
Use AI at least weekly to help them learn, against 45.5% across the OECD.
Say they are never distracted by screens in lessons, against 39.2% OECD-wide.
The Problem with AI Usage
The PISA 2025 study shows that students who use artificial intelligence when studying or to help complete their homework performed lower on standardized tests. In contrast, students who do not use AI or rarely do tend to outperform students who do by nearly 20 points! The problem with AI lays in the fact that only 56.3% of students learn in class how to verify what AI says, compared with 62.6% in other countries. Yet this is exactly what distinguishes students for whom AI is helpful from those for whom it is harmful.
Good Teachings & Supportive Environment
Of American pupils say they are free from bullying. Across the OECD it is 52.5%.
Sense of belonging at school, measured against the OECD average.
How much support pupils say they get from teachers in science lessons.
Of answers are fast and wrong, against 8.9% OECD-wide. Hasty reading has nearly doubled since 2018.
Five Things the Data Actually Supports
Teach Them to Argue with the Chatbot
56.3% of pupils here are shown how to check AI output at school, against 62.6% across the OECD. Ask your child how they know an answer is right — the OECD found pupils who use AI and learn to question it do better than those who just use it.
Two Hours of Homework Is the Ceiling, Not the Target
Results improve with homework time up to about two hours a day, then go into reverse. If your child is routinely spending longer, the problem is usually understanding, not effort.
Protect Reading That Has Nothing to Do with School
Reading is the foundation the OECD says everything else rests on, and "hasty readers" — pupils who skim and answer wrong — have nearly doubled since 2018.
Ask About the Playground, Not Just the Grades
52.9% of pupils here say they are free from bullying, against 52.5% across the OECD. Bullying is linked to lower attainment — and it does not show up on a report card.
Encourage Them to Ssk for Help
Pupils who seek help when stuck score better across every country the OECD measured. Teacher support here is above the OECD average.
Compare the Countries You're Interested In
PISA 2025: Compare Countries
Tick up to six countries to compare them across the four subjects assessed. USA is selected by default.
| Rank | Country | Science | Since 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B-S-J-Z (China) | 597 | — | ||
| 2 | Singapore | 560 | −2 | ||
| 3 | Macao (China) | 541 | −2 | ||
| 4 | Chinese Taipei | 540 | +2 | ||
| 5 | Japan | 538 | −9 | ||
| 6 | Estonia | 527 | +1 | ||
| 7 | Korea | 526 | −2 | ||
| 8 | United Kingdom | 511 | +12 | ||
| 9 | Canada* | 510 | −5 | ||
| 10 | New Zealand* | 509 | +5 | ||
| 11 | Australia | 509 | +2 | ||
| 12 | Finland | 504 | −7 | ||
| 13 | United States* | 502 | +2 | ||
| 14 | Switzerland | 501 | −1 | ||
| 15 | Ireland | 500 | −4 | ||
| 16 | Austria | 497 | +6 | ||
| 17 | Hong Kong (China) | 496 | −25 | ||
| 18 | Poland | 495 | −4 | ||
| 19 | Türkiye | 494 | +18 | ||
| 20 | Czechia | 490 | −7 | ||
| 21 | Belgium | 490 | −1 | ||
| 22 | Lithuania | 488 | +3 | ||
| 23 | Germany | 486 | −7 | ||
| 24 | Netherlands* | 485 | −3 | ||
| 25 | Sweden | 485 | −8 | ||
| 26 | Slovenia | 484 | −16 | ||
| 27 | France | 483 | −4 | ||
| 28 | Italy | 483 | +6 | ||
| 29 | Portugal | 482 | −3 | ||
| — | OECD average | 482 | −3 | ||
| 30 | Hungary | 480 | −6 | ||
| 31 | Denmark | 478 | −16 | ||
| 32 | Spain | 477 | −7 | ||
| 33 | Croatia | 476 | −6 | ||
| 34 | Slovak Republic | 475 | +13 | ||
| 35 | Luxembourg | 474 | — | ||
| 36 | Norway* | 470 | −8 | ||
| 37 | Latvia | 468 | −25 | ||
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 458 | +26 | ||
| 39 | Viet Nam | 457 | — | ||
| 40 | Malta | 453 | −13 | ||
| 41 | Ukrainian regions (17 of 27) | 448 | −1 | ||
| 42 | Uruguay | 445 | +9 | ||
| 43 | Chile | 442 | −1 | ||
| 44 | Israel | 442 | −23 | ||
| 45 | Iceland | 441 | −6 | ||
| 46 | Brunei Darussalam | 439 | −6 | ||
| 47 | Mauritius | 438 | — | ||
| 48 | Uzbekistan | 438 | +83 | ||
| 49 | Montenegro | 435 | +32 | ||
| 50 | Albania* | 435 | — | ||
| 51 | Qatar | 434 | +2 | ||
| 52 | Greece | 434 | −7 | ||
| 53 | Thailand | 432 | +23 | ||
| 54 | Serbia | 429 | −18 | ||
| 55 | Romania | 425 | −3 | ||
| 56 | Mongolia | 424 | +12 | ||
| 57 | Costa Rica | 424 | +13 | ||
| 58 | Georgia | 422 | +38 | ||
| 59 | Moldova | 422 | +5 | ||
| 60 | Bulgaria | 421 | 0 | ||
| 61 | Kazakhstan | 420 | −4 | ||
| 62 | Malaysia | 419 | +3 | ||
| 63 | Colombia | 414 | +3 | ||
| 64 | Mexico | 414 | +4 | ||
| 65 | Saudi Arabia | 413 | +23 | ||
| 66 | Cyprus | 411 | 0 | ||
| 67 | Azerbaijan | 409 | — | ||
| 68 | Brazil | 409 | +6 | ||
| 69 | Jordan | 407 | +32 | ||
| 70 | Peru | 406 | −2 | ||
| 71 | Ecuador | 393 | — | ||
| 72 | Argentina | 393 | −13 | ||
| 73 | Indonesia | 389 | +6 | ||
| 74 | El Salvador | 385 | +12 | ||
| 75 | Cambodia | 382 | +35 | ||
| 76 | North Macedonia | 378 | −1 | ||
| 77 | Philippines | 373 | +17 | ||
| 78 | Lebanon | 372 | — | ||
| 79 | Armenia | 369 | — | ||
| 80 | Kyrgyzstan | 363 | — | ||
| 81 | Dominican Republic | 361 | 0 | ||
| 82 | Palestinian Authority | 359 | −17 | ||
| 83 | Morocco | 358 | −7 | ||
| 84 | Kosovo | 357 | 0 | ||
| 85 | Paraguay | 355 | −13 | ||
| 86 | Kurdistan Region (Iraq) | 352 | — | ||
| 87 | Guatemala | 351 | −22 | ||
| 88 | Zambia | 337 | — | ||
| 89 | Kenya | 335 | — | ||
| 90 | Dushanbe (Tajikistan) | 334 | — | ||
| 91 | Rwanda | 317 | — |
References
- “New Pisa Report Reveals Decline in Student Performance amid Chronic Teacher Shortage and Shrinking Attention Spans.” Education International, 8 Sept. 2026, www.ei-ie.org/en/item/32952.
- OECD, PISA 2025 Results (international report and data tables) (2026). https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2026/09/pisa-2025-results-volume-i_5265bfb1.html
- “Pisa 2025 Results (Volume I): United States.” PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): United States, www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2025-results-volume-i-country-notes_2d4ff9ea-en/united-states_0c8cbc7c-en.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2026.
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