A decline in maths, science and reading skills among school pupils worldwide seen after the Covid-19 pandemic has continued, according to new figures.
Warnings of a “particularly concerning” fall in young people’s reading abilities, described as being particularly important in a digital world, come in a new report detailing the latest Programme for International Assessment (Pisa) test results.
“Most troubling is the decline in the very skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources and thinking critically about what we read,” Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which runs the Pisa tests, said in the report’s forward.
“In turn, the share of ‘hasty readers’ – students who rush through texts and give quick but incorrect answers – almost doubled between 2018 and 2025. In a world increasingly flooded with information, our students are less likely to think deeply and separate signal from noise.”
Bucking the global downwards trend, the UAE recorded improvements across maths, science and reading skills, and sits at the top of achievement for the Arab world. However, the country continues to trail behind the average for the 38-member OECD, of which it is not part.
Pisa tests, usually undertaken every three years, assess 15 year olds, with the latest results based on the performance in 2025 of more than 750,000 young people in 91 countries.
In the OECD, maths, science and reading skills have fallen in the last two Pisa assessments, in 2022 and 2025, with some scores having started their decline before the pandemic.
OECD maths scores now average 465, reading 463 and science 484, all down on the baseline figure of 500 for each assessment category set when the first Pisa analysis was published in 2001, based on assessments the previous year.
The latest assessment shows the continued success of nations in East and South-East Asia, with the likes of China (specifically Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang), Singapore, Taiwan, Macau (a Chinese territory), Hong Kong (also a Chinese territory) and South Korea near the top of the tables.
Ireland, Estonia, England, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the US also performed strongly.
Reading the signs
Mr Schleicher said that while people might “quickly turn” to explanations such as Covid to explain performance declines, reading performance was falling “well before” the pandemic.
“We cannot say for sure, but declining levels of reading for enjoyment and the shift towards digital reading – skimming social media feeds and rapidly processing information – may be compromising the ability of students to engage with complex texts and data,” he added.
The UAE’s average scores in the latest assessment were 453 in maths, up 21 points, 433 in reading, an increase of 15 points, and 458 in science, up 26 points.
Other than the Emirates, only seven countries among the 91 tested achieved increases across all three categories.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education described the UAE as having achieved “a qualitative leap”.
“This achievement is attributable to the collective efforts of the UAE’s educational institutions, staff and teachers to strengthen students’ skills,” Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, said.
“The results align with the UAE’s pioneering vision for AI and digital education, as well as showing the efficacy of advancements in the digital readiness of schools.”
A total of 34,639 pupils at 1,070 schools in the UAE took part in the latest Pisa assessment.
The report hailed the UAE and several other nations for achieving improvements across all ends of the performance spectrum.
“Several countries also demonstrated that higher performance and more inclusive outcomes can go hand in hand,” the report stated. “Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Montenegro, Qatar and the Slovak Republic reduced their share of low-performing students, while increasing their share of top-performers.”
Raising standards
The Ministry of Education credited the UAE’s improved performance to the likes of curriculum development, improved teaching and improved national assessments.
“Together, they enhance assessment quality and reliability while reinforcing evidence and data-based educational decision-making,” the ministry said, highlighting digital readiness as being a particular strength of the education system.
It said 81.7 per cent of pupils learnt to evaluate material generated by AI, compared to an average of 62.6 per cent in the OECD. Subject-specific guidelines for using digital devices was also much more widely introduced in the UAE than in the OECD.
In a statement, the Government of Dubai said the emirate’s private schools were among the top 10 globally across all Pisa assessment areas.
“We begin the new academic year with an achievement that reflects the strength and continued progress of Dubai’s education system,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.
