The illusion shattered: PISA 2025 proves that the "real Israel" is collapsing along with the education system | Dan Perry
The results of the PISA 2025 tests reveal a sharp decline in the achievements of Israeli students, especially in the Hebrew-speaking state education system. The reading score dropped by 38 points to 436, mathematics by 25 points to 433, and science by 23 points to 442. The data shatters the myth that removing the Haredi and Arab sectors from the statistics would reveal a functioning Western education system.
The results of the PISA 2025 tests reveal a severe crisis in the Israeli education system, with the sharpest decline occurring specifically in the Hebrew-speaking state education system. The Israeli reading score fell within three years by 38 points, from 474 in 2022 to 436 in 2025. In mathematics, a decline of 25 points to 433 was recorded, and in science, 23 points to 442. In all three areas, these are the lowest scores ever measured in Israel in these tests, and they are significantly lower than the results of 2012, 2015, and 2018. Israel is now below the OECD average in all three areas. The data shatters the myth that removing the Haredi and Arab sectors from the statistics would reveal a functioning Western education system. The proportion of top performers in reading at an international level dropped from 11% to 5%, and the gaps between strong and weak students remain among the largest in the world. 37% of students in Israel agreed that school was a waste of time, compared to 24% on average in the OECD. The article points to several factors behind the crisis: chronic politicization of education with frequent ministerial turnover, low status of teachers and salaries that do not attract enough talented people to teaching, and increased allocation of resources to Jewish studies and tradition at the expense of basic skills. The author warns that damage to the quality of education threatens Israel's economic, technological, and military advantage.