Spain’s PISA scores hit record lows in all three subjects
Spain’s 15-year-olds have recorded their worst-ever PISA results in reading, maths and science. On 8 September, Spain’s Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports in Madrid rejected claims that the country’s school law, known as LOMLOE or the Celaá law, caused the fall. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which runs PISA, says the pattern points instead to a wider challenge linked to growing use of digital devices.
Spain scored 451 points in reading in PISA 2025. That is 23 points below 2022 and 10 below its previous low in 2006. The result leaves Spanish pupils about half a school year behind the OECD average in reading.
Maths fell from 473 points in 2022 to 457. Science reached 477 points, down eight on 2022 and six below the previous low recorded in 2018.
The warning over screens and rushed reading
OECD PISA analyst Tue Halgreen said Spain should not be judged in isolation, as other countries with different education policies show a similar downward curve. He said the decline has coincided with the spread of technology over the past decade, suggesting a broader social trend rather than the effect of one national policy.
The steepest reading losses appear in tests involving longer texts. The OECD has detected more rushed reading, with pupils failing to take in the full content when they read too quickly.
Halgreen said higher use of digital devices for leisure is linked to lower performance. In places where screen use is lower, results tend to be better, he said. He stressed, however, that each country must tackle the problem through its own policies.
The ministry said LOMLOE focuses on skills-based teaching and reading comprehension. It said the results would help shape improvements to public education policy and would be discussed at the next sectoral conference.
Catalonia’s results cannot be compared
The OECD has not included Catalonia’s figures in its international reports because its exclusion rate was especially high, at 23%. Spain’s ministry has still published the region’s data separately from those of other autonomous communities.
It warns that the pupils tested in Catalonia do not represent the region’s full student population. The figures therefore cannot be compared with other regions or earlier PISA editions.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com