Programme for International Student Assessment 2025: national report for Scotland

11 Conclusion

PISA 2025 provides an internationally comparable perspective on the knowledge, skills and experiences of Scotland’s 15 year olds. It does not assess mastery of the Scottish curriculum or provide a complete judgement on the education system. Rather, it examines how well young people apply knowledge to unfamiliar and real-world situations, alongside their reported experiences of learning.

The findings present a mixed picture. In science, mathematics and reading, Scotland’s mean performance did not change significantly between 2022 and 2025. This stability follows longer-term declines but does not represent a return to earlier performance levels. Scores remain significantly below those achieved in several previous cycles, and a substantial proportion of pupils, particularly in mathematics, did not reach the OECD baseline proficiency level. At the same time, Scottish pupils performed strongly in computational problem solving and environmental science, highlighting capabilities in applying knowledge, using digital tools and addressing complex questions.

Socio-economic background remains associated with performance, with pupils from more advantaged backgrounds generally achieving higher PISA scores. However, this relationship was weaker in 2025 than in several previous cycles, including 2022, across all three established domains, with the change particularly marked in reading. In other words, pupils’ socio-economic background was less strongly related to differences in their performance than it had been previously. These findings do not mean that socio-economic inequalities in performance have disappeared, and PISA cannot explain why the relationships have changed. However, they demonstrate that the strength of the association between socio-economic background and performance can vary over time and across areas of learning.

Differences by sex and immigration background also remain important: girls outperformed boys in reading, boys outperformed girls in mathematics, and there was no significant difference in science. Second-generation immigrant pupils performed particularly strongly across reading, mathematics and science, while first-generation pupils generally did not differ significantly from other groups.

Questionnaire findings add important context. Many pupils reported curiosity, support from teachers and families, positive relationships and a sense of belonging, and a belief in the value of education. However, others reported absence, lateness, bullying or limited preparation for adult life. Artificial intelligence is already being used for schoolwork by some pupils, while many report little or no use. Headteachers also identified pressures relating to staffing and digital resources and infrastructure. However, the headteacher findings should be interpreted with caution because questionnaire response coverage was below the OECD standard for national reporting.

The PISA 2025 cohort’s educational experience also includes disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including around the transition from primary to secondary education. This is relevant context, but the 2025 results should not be attributed to the pandemic: PISA is not designed to estimate its causal impact.

More generally, changes in scores cannot on their own demonstrate the success or failure of a policy. This is because PISA assesses a representative sample of one age group at one point in time. It measures particular forms of applied knowledge and skills and relies partly on reported perceptions. PISA does not follow individual pupils over time or isolate the effects of particular schools, policies, experiences or contextual factors.

PISA’s value lies in complementing national assessment and qualifications data, administrative information, inspection evidence, research and other large-scale international assessments. It provides a snapshot of one cohort’s performance on common international measures and places this alongside pupils’ attitudes and experiences. It should therefore be understood not as a verdict on Scottish education, but as evidence that helps to identify where outcomes have stabilised or changed, where inequalities persist, and which aspects of young people’s experiences require further investigation.

Overall, PISA 2025 shows that there was no statistically significant change in performance in mathematics, science and reading between 2022 and 2025, but performance remains below some earlier levels. It also highlights strengths in computational problem solving and environmental science, and shows that socio-economic background remains important but is less strongly associated with performance than in previous cycles. Many pupils report feeling supported and connected at school, while others report challenges relating to attendance, bullying, and preparation for adulthood, alongside pressures around staffing and digital provision. These findings provide an important insight into the performance and experiences of the 15 year olds assessed in Scotland in 2025 and should be considered alongside other evidence on Scotland’s education system.