The 2025 PISA international test data published today (Tuesday) shows a major collapse in the education system in recent years, with the report describing Israel as one of the countries with the sharpest and most comprehensive decline between the years 2022 and 2025.
In the three literacy areas examined - reading, mathematics and science - the scores of 14-year-old students in grades 9 and 10 fell to the lowest levels measured in Israel since it joined the study.
The drop in achievements has shattered Israel's international standing: in relation to OECD countries in particular, Israel fell 5 places in reading to 31st place out of 38; in science it fell 2 places to 33rd place out of 38; and in mathematics it fell 1 place to 33rd place out of 38.
The largest decline was recorded in reading: the Israeli score fell from 474 points in 2022 to only 436 in 2025, a gap of 38 points within one cycle. This is an exceptional decline even in international comparison: since 2000, only four cases of a drop of 35 points or more in reading between two PISA cycles have been recorded in OECD countries.
There was also a significant setback in the other two areas: in mathematics, the score dropped from 458 to 433 points, and in science from 465 to 442 points.
Behind the averages lies another significant statistic: a large proportion of Israeli students do not reach the baseline level set in the test. In math, 461% of students fail, in reading 411% fail, and in science 401%.
At the same time, the top end of the achievement table has also eroded: the rate of excellent students in reading has been cut from 111% to 51%, and in mathematics their rate is 51% compared to 81% on the OECD average, while in science only 41% of students in Israel are defined as excellent compared to 71% in the organization's countries.
As a result, the gaps between the strongest and weakest students have narrowed, but this is not due to progress by those who are struggling. Achievements at the top have declined more sharply, and despite the narrowing, Israel still ranks third in the world in the size of the gap between the top and bottom deciles in reading and science, and eighth in math.
Alongside the grades, the students' answers present a complex picture of their study routine: 371% of students in Israel reported missing at least a full day of school during the two weeks preceding the test, compared to 221% on the OECD average.
Some 45% reported missing individual lessons, compared to 24% in the organization's countries, and 63% reported being late, compared to 50% in the OECD.
In addition, 371% of students in Israel said that for them school is a "waste of time", compared to 241% on the organization's average.
The situation inside the classrooms is also evident from the responses: 35% of the students reported noise and chaos that interfered with lessons, and 30% said that the disciplinary conditions made it difficult for them to concentrate and work.
Even during the test itself, signs of persistent difficulty were evident: 19.71% of Israeli students' answers in the reading section were classified as rushed - answers given quickly and were incorrect - compared to an average of 8.91%, and in this index, Israel ranked seventh out of 83.
Stuck deep in screens
The dismal result is particularly striking when compared to the data on screen usage: an Israeli student spends an average of 7 hours a weekday in the digital space – compared to 6.3 hours in the OECD. Of this, only 2.7 hours are dedicated to learning – 38% of total screen time, compared to 47% in the OECD. Another 4.3 hours are wasted on social networks, video games, content creation and communication with friends – compared to 3.4 hours in developed countries.
The use of AI has become routine among teenagers: 52% Hebrew speakers and 39% Arabic speakers use artificial intelligence at least once a week for study purposes, and 37% Hebrew speakers – compared to 29% Arabic speakers – use it to write drafts for assignments. The study found that after controlling for socio-economic background, there is a statistical relationship between frequent use of AI and higher grades. Although this does not prove a causal relationship.
On the other hand, technology causes a loss of concentration: a third of Israeli students report being distracted by digital devices in most or all science classes, 341% of Hebrew speakers and 281% of Arabic speakers, compared to 281% in the OECD. Students who reported this distraction scored an average of 22 points lower in science, even after controlling for economic background.
Another weakness emerges from the responses of school principals. According to reports, 471% of students in Israel attend schools where teachers who are not qualified or have insufficient training are hindering the ability to sustain learning, compared to 251% on the OECD average.
This figure places Israel in third place among the countries of the organization in terms of the extent of the phenomenon. Among Hebrew-speaking students, the rate is even higher, at 60%, while at the same time, principals reported relatively high autonomy in making pedagogical decisions and hiring teachers.
The surprising Haredi statistic
Amidst the general decline, the results of girls in Haredi education stand out. In reading, Haredi girls achieved higher scores than Hebrew-speaking girls in state education by a gap of 38 points, in math their achievements were similar, and in science the advantage that state girls previously had was completely erased.
This change is not due to a jump in the achievements of ultra-Orthodox female students, but rather as a direct result of the sharp decline in the achievements of state-school girls.
It should be noted that the data for the Haredi sector is valid for girls only, as the participation rate of Haredi boys - who study in small yeshivots - was too low to produce a valid sample.
Over 760,000 students from 91 countries participated in the PISA 2025 study. In Israel, 7,330 students from 215 schools were tested. Of these, 5,775 spoke Hebrew and 1,555 spoke Arabic, for a participation rate of 851%.
The tests were conducted in March-April 2025, in the midst of a multi-sector war. However, the exception was pre-emptively sampled from schools that had been evacuated in the south and north and in communities along the conflict line, and principals were given the authority to exclude students who were directly affected by the events of the war.
Although the exceptional security situation must be taken into account, the report does not attribute the decline to the war alone, especially in light of the exceptional depth of the decline compared to all countries in the world.
