Spanish 15-year-olds scored 451 points in reading comprehension in 2025, according to the PISA report, marking a drop of 23 points since 2022 and 45 points since 2015. The latest data represents the lowest score in Spain’s historical series, sliding well below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 461 points.
Reading Performance Drops Across Spain and the OECD
The decline in reading comprehension is not isolated to Spain. According to the OECD, the organization’s average score dropped from 489 points in 2015 to 461 in 2025, reflecting a 28-point decline. Between 2018 and 2025, 56 out of 74 countries and economies with comparable data experienced a significant decrease in reading scores. Spain’s 2025 score of 451 points follows historical oscillations that began with 493 points in the year 2000, dipped to 461 points in 2006, and peaked at 496 points in 2015 before entering a persistent downward trend.
Methodological caveats accompany the 2025 data. In Catalonia, the proportion of students excluded within schools shifted from 5,6 % in 2022 to 23,2 % in 2025, exceeding PISA standards. As a result, the OECD did not present specific results for Catalonia, warning that high exclusion levels likely introduced an upward bias into those figures.
Did You Know?
Spain’s reading score in the very first PISA study conducted in the year 2000 was 493 points, higher than the 451 points recorded in 2025.
Decoding PISA Standards and Student Reading Profiles
PISA defines reading comprehension as the capacity to understand, use, evaluate, and reflect on texts to achieve goals, develop knowledge, and participate in society. Tasks go beyond locating explicit information, requiring students to relate elements, make inferences, interpret data, and evaluate source credibility. In Spain, 68 % of students reach at least level 2, the baseline proficiency level, while only 2 % reach levels 5 or 6, compared to the 6 % OECD average.
Student reading behaviors are also shifting. The OECD identifies different profiles based on test behavior, noting an increase in “hasty readers”—students who read quickly but make more incorrect answers. Across the OECD, hasty readers grew from 6,6 % to 11,4 % between 2018 and 2025, while precise and fluent readers declined.
Expert Insight
Investigating Factors Behind the Educational Trend
Researchers connect the PISA findings to changing reading habits, attention spans, digital device usage, and socioeconomic conditions. While adolescents continue to read in digital environments with brief, fragmented texts, data from the Barómetro de Hábitos de Lectura y Compra de Libros en España shows that 76,9 % of people aged 14 to 24 reported reading books for leisure in 2025, making them the most active reading age group in Spain. Executive functions such as working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and attentional control also play a role in managing complex texts.
Government and regional officials have offered varying perspectives on the downward trend. Education Minister Milagros Tolón stated on Cadena Ser that a lack of reading comprehension forms the base of all educational problems, noting that understanding text is essential for solving problems in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Tolón added that the ministry has promoted territorial cooperation programs since 2024 to strengthen reading and math, while suggesting the scores may relate to new technologies, screen usage, and superficial reading habits. Furthermore, Tolón dismissed claims that the drop stems from the Lomloe education law, arguing that its competency-based framework aligns directly with PISA methodologies.
Regional education officials have pointed to different contributing factors. Andalusian Education Minister María del Carmen Castillo acknowledged in a Canal Sur radio interview that the regional educational system scored an average of 462 points and pointed to pandemic-related disruptions. Asturias Education Director Eva Ledo noted a generalized score drop while pointing to pandemic sequelae and shifts in attention and reading habits. Meanwhile, Castilla-La Mancha Education Minister Amador Pastor celebrated the results of his community, the única en España que mejora en uno de los tres exámenes del informe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Spain’s score in the 2025 PISA reading comprehension test?
Spanish 15-year-olds scored 451 points in reading comprehension in 2025, which is 23 points lower than their 2022 score and 45 points lower than their 2015 score.
Why did the OECD withhold specific results for Catalonia?
The OECD noted that Catalonia’s proportion of excluded students within schools reached 23,2 % in 2025—up from 5,6 % in 2022—which exceeds PISA standards and likely introduces an upward bias into the regional results.
What percentage of young people in Spain report reading books for leisure?
According to the Barómetro de Hábitos de Lectura y Compra de Libros en España, 76,9 % of individuals aged 14 to 24 reported reading books for leisure in 2025.
How might schools and families best balance digital reading habits with the sustained cognitive effort required for complex texts?