French pupils fall to record low in global education survey

Since 2000, the Pisa study (Programme for International Student Assessment), published every three years, has established itself as a global benchmark for the performance of education systems and is closely scrutinised by governments.

It assesses the academic skills of 15-year-olds by examining their reading comprehension, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy, with a specific "major" focus area each time. For the 2025 edition, the focus was science.

The assessments were administered to 760,000 young people across 91 countries and territories, including 6,500 French students.

Éric Charbonnier, an education specialist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said that while France remains in line with the OECD average" in mathematics, reading comprehension, and science, "scores are steadily declining."

Compared to the last edition in 2022, France's science results remain stable (down 4 points), while reading comprehension scores dropped by 18 points and mathematics scores by 16 points.

The OECD estimates that a 20-point difference corresponds to roughly one year of schooling.

Between 2012 and 2025, results declined across the board, falling from 499 to 483 points in science, from 505 to 456 in reading, and from 484 to 458 in mathematics.

Over the past decade, the percentage of high-performing students has declined in mathematics (5 percent of students in 2025, compared to 11 percent in 2015) and reading comprehension (5 percent versus 13 percent in 2015).

'Weapon of mass intellectual destruction'

French Education Minister Édouard Geffray called France's ranking "concerning, but sadly, it comes as no surprise."

Speaking in an interview with daily Le Monde, the minister pointed to what he called "a powerful underlying trend – a shift in how 21st-century children are educated and taught."

Geffray pointed specifically to social media – calling it a "weapon of mass intellectual destruction" – as well as "diminishing parental involvement in schooling."

In France, he criticised "vague learning objectives", particularly at middle-school level, promising it would become "the major undertaking of the next five-year [presidential] term".

Writing on the social media platform X, he suggested giving schools greater autonomy "to strengthen support for struggling students, diversify the curriculum and open up more opportunities for all students".

Ex-PM Attal urges Macron to put under-15 social media ban to referendum

"We have focused heavily on reducing class sizes – which is necessary – perhaps at the expense of reflecting on teaching methods," he explained.

Geffray also said he would share Pisa results more effectively with teaching staff and families in order to boost their engagement. "I also believe we can leverage another tool: teacher professional development," he said.

The minister subsequently announced on X that the 18 hours of mandatory annual training for primary school teachers could be increased to as many as 36 hours. He will also plan to relaunch the initiative to certify textbooks, starting with reading and mathematics for the first two years of primary school.

Each family will receive a document outlining the learning objectives planned for the school year in November.

For the Se-Unsa teachers' union, "waiting for each new survey to discover the French school system's difficulties amounts to looking for culprits rather than solutions."

China on top

As in previous Pisa editions, several Asian countries rank among the top performers in the three main subjects, as well as in "computer-based problem-solving," a skill assessed for the first time.

The four Chinese provinces and municipalities studied by the OECD – Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang – rank at the top in science and mathematics, while Singapore leads in reading comprehension. Macao, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea round out the top of the rankings.

But reading comprehension has seen an average drop of 28 points across OECD countries over a ten-year period, compared to 16 points in the other countries and economies participating in the survey.

French children spend 10 times longer on screens than reading, study finds

The OECD points to several factors, including the transformation of reading habits driven by the widespread use of screens, a decline in young people's interest in reading, and shifts in attitudes toward school observed since the 2020 Covid pandemic.

Students now face "far greater difficulty answering questions that require complex cognitive processes, reflection, the reading of long texts (400 words), and concentration," Charbonnier explained.

In Europe, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Ireland are performing well, ranking above the OECD average – as are Canada and New Zealand. "Decline is not inevitable (...) But reversing the trend requires focus, discipline, and action," the OECD stated.

To achieve this, the body recommends refocusing efforts on mastering core skills, providing better support for teachers, increasing parental involvement, strengthening support for the most struggling schools, and using digital technologies as a tool to deepen learning "rather than as a way to bypass it."

(with AFP)