Not only in Israel: Unprecedented collapse of European powers in PISA tests

The results of the 2025 PISA tests reveal an unprecedented collapse in the educational powerhouses of Western Europe: France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland recorded historic lows. About a third of 15-year-olds in Europe were defined as lacking basic skills in reading and mathematics. The trend occurs alongside the free fall in the Israeli education system, pointing to a broad global crisis whose roots go deeper than the damage caused by the coronavirus.

The results of the 2025 PISA tests, which assess the ability of 15-year-olds to apply knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading, and science in real-life situations, have stunned the educational powerhouses of Western Europe. France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland recorded all-time lows. The data indicate a decline that has been ongoing since 2018, with the proportion of 15-year-olds lacking basic skills in reading and mathematics soaring to nearly one in three students. In Germany, about 25% of students do not reach a basic level of proficiency in science, and a third lack it in mathematics and reading. In the Netherlands, a historic low was recorded in reading literacy, with 39% of 15-year-olds lacking basic skills—a drop of more than 60 points over the past decade. In Finland, once considered a leading educational model, scores continued to fall in mathematics and reading. The European trend coincides with the free fall in the Israeli education system. Experts in Europe point to underlying factors: a chronic shortage of teaching staff, repeated curriculum reforms that neglected basic skills, widening social gaps, and the impact of smartphones on attention spans. In France, the opposition described the results as a "catastrophe," and experts warn of a turnover of eight education ministers in a decade.