OECD PISA 2025 Rankings Released, East Asia Leads

According to a Mint report, the OECD PISA 2025 results were released in September 2026. This global educational assessment has revealed a clear regional divide in the field of education worldwide. The assessment measured the proficiency of fifteen-year-old students in mathematics, science, and reading across 91 participating educational systems, serving as an important benchmark for future workforce readiness.

East Asian regions are home to the highest-scoring students worldwide, with all top six spots globally going to this region. According to the Mint report, participating regions of China, particularly including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, lead the world in both mathematics and science. Researchers attribute this regional success to academic discipline, rigorous curricula, robust teacher development, and a cultural attitude towards hard work and achievement. However, it is important to note that these results for China represent four relatively affluent regions and do not fully reflect the country's national student population as a whole.

Singapore, another Asian powerhouse, secured the first position globally in reading. In this assessment, the US ranked 16th with an average score of 485. Analyzing the subjects in detail, American students scored 502 in science and 490 in reading, but appeared to struggle in mathematics where their score was only 463.

According to Brookings' analysis, US test scores have been declining steadily since the 2010s, and pandemic-era disruptions have made this decline more severe. Beyond educational losses, North American schools are facing immense pressures such as widening socio-economic inequalities, chronic absenteeism, and severe teacher shortages. While these global rankings evaluate a total of 91 educational systems, precise placement data and scores for India, the United Kingdom, and Russia are missing as they were not available up to the time of this draft.

Due to limited PISA participation and structural challenges cited by UNESCO, not a single African country managed to secure a place in the top 40 of this global list. These figures demonstrate how major economies are progressing in educating the new generation. While East Asian countries are setting benchmarks, other major powers are attempting to recover from systemic shifts and pandemic-era learning losses.