The students in Spain return to the classrooms, in those first days when the welcomes weigh much more than the studies. Meanwhile, the one who has been examined is the whole country, because Spain has once again faced this Tuesday the international exam that for more than two decades has become one of the main references to compare the performance of educational systems. The OECD publishes the first results of PISA 2025, an edition in which Science takes on a special prominence and allows checking how the Spanish student body has evolved compared to previous evaluations.
The Programme for International Student Assessment analyzes the competencies of 15-year-old students and Spain has participated in PISA since its first edition, held in 2000, and the study has since become a regular reference to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the educational system. This edition of the OECD evaluation analyzes the Spanish student body trained with the LOMLOE curriculum, the educational law approved by the Government of Pedro Sánchez at the end of 2020.
The evaluation is structured around three main areas: Mathematics, Reading, and Science. In each cycle, one of them occupies the place of main competency, which allows for a deeper analysis. In PISA 2025, that role corresponds to Science, while Mathematics and Reading are also part of the evaluation as secondary competencies.
The OECD explains that the tests aim to measure the students' ability to apply their knowledge and skills in situations they may encounter outside the school environment. Therefore, PISA should not be interpreted as a conventional exam on the syllabus studied in class, but as a comparative evaluation of the capabilities that students have developed by the time they reach approximately the end of compulsory education.
The 2025 edition also incorporates novelties. The study includes for the first time an international assessment of foreign language, focused on English, while the innovative domain is learning in the digital world. This last evaluation aims to analyze how students use digital tools to solve problems and how they regulate their own learning in those environments. The results of the different parts are not necessarily published at the same time.
Fiasco in Reading, Mathematics, and Science
Once the results are known, Spanish students aged 15 have obtained in PISA 2025 their worst historical results in Reading, Mathematics, and Science.
According to the results of the latest PISA Report, collected by Europa Press, Spanish students are half a school year behind the OECD average in Reading.
Spain has achieved 451 points in this competency, ten less than its previous historical minimum, recorded in 2006 with 461 points. The score also represents a decrease of 23 points compared to 2022, when it reached 474.
Spanish students are eight points below the average of the European Union, which is at 459, and ten below the OECD average, which is 461 points. Between 2015 and 2025, Spain has lost a total of 45 points in Reading.
In Mathematics, Spanish students already recorded their worst historical result in PISA 2022, with 473 points. In 2025, the score has fallen to 457 points, 16 less than in the previous edition.
The Spanish score is six points below both the OECD average and the overall European Union average, which are both at 463 points. Since 2015, Spain has lost almost 30 points in Mathematics and has moved away from the OECD average, which is moderating its decline.
The results have not been positive in Science either. Spanish students have obtained 477 points, eight less than in PISA 2022, when they reached 485, and six less than in 2018, the edition in which Spain had recorded its worst result in this subject so far, with 483 points.
Spain also falls below the averages of the OECD and the European Union in scientific competency. Spanish students are four points below the community average and five below the OECD average. Since 2015, the country has lost 16 points in Science and has widened its distance from the international organization.
Spain approaches the average in computational problem solving
PISA 2025 shows, on the other hand, that Spain is approaching the OECD average in computational problem solving. Spanish students have achieved 499 points, one more than the OECD average, which is at 499, and four more than the total of the European Union, which is at 495 points.
The Community of Madrid leads the performance in this competition with 515 points. Following are Asturias, with 512; Cantabria, with 510; Castilla y León, with 509; Aragón, with 506; Galicia, with 505; Castilla-La Mancha, with 503; La Rioja, with 500, and Navarra, also with 500.
Below the Spanish average are the Basque Country, with 498 points; Balearic Islands, with 497; Extremadura, with 494; Canary Islands, with 488; Murcia, with 485; Andalusia, with 483; Valencian Community, with 474; Ceuta, with 440, and Melilla, with 416.
Catalonia, excluded from the international report due to its high percentage of students removed from the test, has obtained 523 points.
In this edition, the ninth in which Spanish students participate, 956 educational centers and nearly 30,000 students have taken part in the main study. The sample represents the total population of students aged 15 to 16 from all communities and autonomous cities.
The international PISA results maintain their downward trend
The PISA results also reflect a decreasing trend in the international sphere. The most pronounced decline occurs in Reading, followed by Mathematics and Science.
The OECD average stands at 486 points in Science, compared to 491 in 2022; at 466 points in Reading, compared to 482 in the previous edition, and at 469 points in Mathematics, compared to 480 recorded in 2022.
The rate of excluded students in Spain has reached 7.89%, above the 5% set by PISA in its standards. After conducting a bias analysis, the OECD has concluded that the Spanish data can be fully used for making international comparisons and analyzing its evolution.
However, two autonomous communities have recorded an "especially high" exclusion percentage: Catalonia, with 23%, and the Region of Murcia, with 13%.
The OECD has decided to exclude the Catalan data from the international reports. The data from Murcia has been included, although accompanied by a warning about the potential risk of bias due to overestimation.
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, with prior knowledge of the OECD, has chosen to incorporate the results of Catalonia, but separated from those of the rest of the communities. It has also added a note to warn that these data should not be used to establish comparisons with other territories or with previous editions of PISA, due to the fact that the examined sample does not represent the entire Catalan student body.
In the case of the Region of Murcia, the results appear alongside those of the other autonomous communities. However, a note warns that comparisons with other territories or editions should be interpreted with caution due to the possible risk of bias.
Madrid leads in Mathematics and Science and ranks second in Reading
Asturias achieves the best autonomous result in Spain in Reading, with 471 points. Following are the Community of Madrid, with 469; Castilla y León, with 466; Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, and Aragón, all with 461 points. These communities exceed the average of the European Union, set at 459.
Galicia, with 454 points, is above the Spanish average of 451, but does not reach the community average. Extremadura matches the national average with 451 points.
Below the Spanish average in Reading are the Region of Murcia, with 448 points; Canary Islands, with 445; Andalusia, Balearic Islands, and Navarre, with 441; Community of Valencia, with 424; Basque Country, with 419; Ceuta, with 397, and Melilla, with 379. Catalonia, excluded from international reports due to its high percentage of exclusions, has obtained 473 points.
In Mathematics, the Community of Madrid tops the results with 477 points. It is followed by Castilla y León, with 472; Cantabria, with 470; Asturias, with 469, and Galicia, with 466. All of them are above the OECD and European Union average, set at 463 points.
Also exceeding the Spanish average of 457 points are Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Aragón, and Navarre, all with 462 points, in addition to the Basque Country.
Below the national average are Extremadura, with 454 points; Balearic Islands, with 449; Murcia, with 447; Canary Islands and Andalusia, with 442; Community of Valencia, with 435; Ceuta, with 405, and Melilla, with 395. Catalonia has obtained 474 points in Mathematics.
In Science, the students with the highest scores have been those from the Community of Madrid, with 495 points. They also exceed the OECD averages, of 482 points; of the European Union, of 481, and of Spain, of 477, Castilla y León, with 493; Asturias, with 492; Cantabria, with 490; Galicia, with 486; Castilla-La Mancha, with 485; La Rioja, with 484, and Aragón, with 482.
Below the Spanish average are Extremadura, with 473 points; Navarra, with 472; Balearic Islands, with 471; Murcia, with 470; Canary Islands, with 469; Andalusia, with 462; Basque Country, with 459; Valencian Community, with 450; Ceuta, with 420, and Melilla, with 405. Catalonia has reached a score of 502.
An indicator that goes beyond a ranking
The importance of PISA does not reside solely in knowing which country appears above or below another. The OECD uses its results to study the evolution of educational systems, the differences among students, and the relationship between performance and various factors related to the learning environment.
Moreover, the scores should not be interpreted as an exact mathematical ranking. The OECD itself warns that the results come from samples of students and are subject to margins of statistical uncertainty. Therefore, the positions of the countries are presented within certain ranges, and small differences in scores do not necessarily imply statistically significant differences.
The 2025 edition includes the participation of more than 90 countries and economies and brings together more than 760,000 students. The OECD presents PISA as the largest international comparative assessment of 15-year-old students. Spain participates with a national sample that allows placing its results in the international context and tracking its evolution compared to previous cycles.
The interest of the data known from today is, therefore, to verify what happens with the three core competencies and, especially, with Science, the area that the OECD has chosen as the focus of this edition.