The European Education Crisis: Understanding PISA Test Failures and Cognitive Decline

Global PISA 2025 Results Show Record Declines in Reading and Math

According to the PISA report, the standardized tests taken by 15-year-old students across 91 countries and economies reveal a significant drop in academic performance. The report highlights that reading has suffered the largest decline. In the interval between 2015 and 2025, the average score of students across OECD countries dropped by 28 points. Furthermore, the OECD notes that this performance drop is severe even among students from high-income families.

Experts point to the growing presence of artificial intelligence in the daily lives of youths as a primary driver of these trends. Essential abilities such as evaluating information, correlating multiple sources, and applying critical thinking are increasingly compromised. In France, Édouard Geffray warned that the educational system must combat the cognitive destruction of young people. According to Geffray, young people who spend three hours a day on phones during classes lose the equivalent of nearly two years of school due to the excessive consumption of social networks.

Romania Ranks Near the Bottom of the European Union in PISA 2025

In Romania, 7,725 students from 322 schools participated in the assessment, representing approximately 172,000 students out of the 760,000 total participants globally. According to data published by edupedu.ro, Romania’s average scores for PISA 2025 are 425 points in sciences, 413 points in reading, and 419 points in mathematics, alongside 442 points in the newly evaluated problem-solving with digital instruments category. While sciences and mathematics remained relatively stable compared to 2022 according to statistical margins, the score at reading dropped by 16 points.

Meanwhile, only a small percentage of Romanian students reached top proficiency levels, compared to the OECD average. Nationally, reports that 52% of Romanian students fail to reach the minimum competency level in mathematics, while 48% fall below the threshold in reading. Regionally, Romania sits near the bottom of the European Union, ahead of only Bulgaria and Cipru, and is outperformed by non-EU states including Montenegro, Albania, and Serbia.

International Comparisons and Ministerial Reactions

Spain also recorded its lowest scores in the history of its participation in PISA tests since 2000. Spanish Minister of Education Milagros Tolón stated that poor reading comprehension serves as the root of all educational problems. According to Milagros Tolón, if a student fails to understand a text, solving problems in mathematics, physics, or chemistry becomes impossible. Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which derulează testul PISA, noted that when technology is integrated into learning, the resulting performance dips require nuanced evaluation across participating nations.

Across the broader international ranking, countries securing the highest results include Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Conversely, nations with the lowest performance in reading, mathematics, and sciences include Romania, Spain, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria. Bulgaria saw reading drop to 387 points and mathematics drop to 405 points, while Cyprus registered 379 points in reading and 427 points in mathematics.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the PISA tests?

  PISA is an international standardized assessment conducted by the OECD that evaluates 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science to measure how well they apply school knowledge to real-life situations.

• How did Romania perform in PISA 2025?

  Romania scored 413 points in reading, 419 in mathematics, and 425 in sciences, placing the country near the bottom of the European Union and below the OECD average across all evaluated domains.

• Why are student scores dropping globally?

  OECD experts and education officials attribute the declines to digital distractions, excessive screen time, and heavy social media use, which negatively impact reading comprehension and critical thinking.