PISA 2025: Italian schools hold up better, but not for the reasons it seems

PISA is the OECD survey that measures 15-year-olds' skills in reading, mathematics and science. Results in 2025 fell in most European countries. Between 2015 and 2025 Germany and France lost about 40 points in maths and reading, while Italy lost 24 in maths and 7 in reading.

A really stronger school system?

According to the analysis, Italy's smaller decline is largely explained by class composition: students with a migrant background are almost one in three in Germany, one in five in France and just over one in ten in Italy. Taking this difference into account, the gap with France and Germany halves in science and maths.

The weaknesses that remain

In 2025 foreign-born 15-year-olds in Italy scored on average 9% lower than their Italian-born peers: 40 points less in maths, 41 in reading and 46 in science. More than half of this gap depends on families' economic and social conditions. The most disadvantaged quarter of students scores 15% lower in all three subjects.

Why it matters to you

School should give everyone the same opportunities, whatever family they come from. Knowing these figures helps explain why study support, guidance and attention to those who start at a disadvantage matter for everyone's future.