Spain’s richest pupils lose 33 PISA reading points
Spain’s wealthiest pupils have lost 33 points in reading since 2022, the steepest fall recorded between social groups in the country’s PISA 2025 results. Pupils in the least advantaged quarter lost 15.1 points over the same period. The findings, reported in Spain on 8 September 2026, compare performance by the Index of Economic, Social and Cultural Status, or ISEC.
The gap is repeated in maths and science. In maths, the highest-ISEC quarter dropped 24.2 points, against 10.5 points for the lowest quarter. In science, the losses were 12.6 and 4.5 points respectively.
Spain falls harder than the OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says pupils in the top ISEC quarter have seen the largest declines across both Spain and the OECD average. But Spain’s slide is markedly worse, especially in reading and maths.
Reading scores fell in every social group in Spain. In science, lower- and middle-income groups improved across the OECD average, while Spain saw a broader decline. The only slight exception was the third ISEC quarter in science.
Strong science results despite disadvantage
There is one striking result at the other end of the social scale. Some 13% of Spanish pupils in the lowest ISEC quarter reached the top quarter for science performance.
PISA classifies those pupils as academically resilient: they achieved high results despite their disadvantaged socio-economic background. The OECD average is 12%.
School type also looks different once background is taken into account. Private-school pupils initially score higher in science, but the gap narrows after adjusting for each pupil’s ISEC. When the ISEC of both pupils and schools is included, the difference in Spain turns in favour of state schools.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com