Programme for International Student Assessment 2025: national report for Scotland

1 Executive Summary

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international study of the knowledge and skills of 15 year olds, coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It assesses how well pupils can apply what they have learned in science, mathematics and reading to real-life situations. In 2025, science was the main focus of the assessment and PISA also introduced a new innovative domain, Learning in the Digital World.

In Scotland, 115 schools and colleges, and 3,066 pupils took part in PISA 2025. Scotland met the OECD’s school and pupil participation requirements and its results were judged suitable for international reporting and comparison over time.

The pupils who participated in PISA 2025 experienced significant disruption to their education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most were in the later stages of primary school when schools first closed in 2020 and their transition to secondary school was also affected. PISA cannot establish whether, or to what extent, these experiences affected subsequent performance, but they provide important context for understanding the educational journey of this cohort.

1.1 Key findings

PISA 2025 presents a mixed but more positive picture than the longer-term trends alone might suggest. Performance in science, mathematics and reading did not change significantly between 2022 and 2025. The longer-term declines seen in all three domains therefore did not continue in the latest PISA cycle, although performance remains significantly below that achieved in a number of earlier cycles.

There were also important areas of strength. Scotland performed significantly above the OECD average in science and reading and in both of the new areas reported in PISA 2025: computational problem solving and environmental science. Mathematics performance was statistically similar to the OECD average.

Scotland performed particularly strongly in computational problem solving, with almost three in ten pupils reaching the two highest proficiency levels. Environmental science performance was also significantly above the OECD average.

The findings on socio-economic background were also notable. Pupils from more advantaged socio-economic backgrounds continued to perform better on average, but the strength of this relationship varied across domains. The clearest change was in reading, where both measures of the relationship between socio-economic background and performance were significantly weaker in 2025 than in every previous PISA cycle shown. The relationship between socio-economic background and science and mathematics performance was also significantly weaker than in 2022.

The wider questionnaire findings identify important strengths in pupils’ experiences of learning. Pupils in Scotland reported high levels of curiosity, strong support from teachers and families, generally positive views of the value of school and a positive sense of belonging. The findings also identify challenges relating to staffing and digital resources, attendance, bullying and pupils’ perceptions of how well school prepares them for adult life.

1.2 Science

Scotland achieved a mean science score of 491 points in 2025. This was not statistically significantly different from 483 points in 2022. Over the longer-term, science performance in 2025 was significantly lower than in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but was not significantly different from 2015, 2018 or 2022.

Scotland’s mean science score was significantly above the OECD average of 482 points. Of the participating OECD countries and UK administrations, 10 performed significantly better than Scotland, 14 performed at a statistically similar level and 16 performed significantly below Scotland. Within the UK, Scotland performed significantly below England and the United Kingdom overall, significantly above Wales and at a statistically similar level to Northern Ireland.

There was no statistically significant difference in science performance between boys and girls in Scotland.

In 2025, 21.1% of pupils performed below Level 2 in science. This was significantly higher than in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but was not significantly different from 2015, 2018 or 2022. At the upper end of the scale, 7.9% of pupils performed at Level 5 or above. This was significantly lower than in 2006 but not significantly different from the other previous cycles shown.

Socio-economic background remained associated with science performance. In 2025, it explained 7.3% of the variation in science performance, while a one-point increase on the PISA measure of socio-economic status was associated with an average increase of 28 points in science performance. Both measures were significantly lower than the OECD average, but were not significantly different from the other UK nations.

Second-generation immigrant pupils achieved a mean science score of 521 points, significantly higher than the 492 points achieved by non-immigrant pupils. First-generation immigrant pupils achieved 497 points, which was not significantly different from either group.

1.3 Mathematics

Scotland achieved a mean mathematics score of 467 points in 2025. This was not significantly different from 471 points in 2022. Over the longer-term, mathematics performance in 2025 was significantly lower than in every PISA cycle between 2003 and 2018.

Scotland’s mathematics score was statistically similar to the OECD average of 463 points. Of the participating OECD countries and UK administrations, 14 performed significantly better than Scotland, 15 performed at a statistically similar level and 11 performed significantly below Scotland. Within the UK, Scotland performed significantly below England and the United Kingdom overall, significantly above Wales and at a statistically similar level to Northern Ireland.

Boys achieved a mean mathematics score of 475 points, significantly higher than the 459 points achieved by girls. Neither boys’ nor girls’ performance in 2025 was significantly different from 2022.

Almost one third of pupils (32.0%) performed below Level 2 in mathematics. This was significantly higher than in every cycle between 2006 and 2018, but was not significantly different from 2022. At the upper end of the proficiency scale, 7.2% of pupils performed at Level 5 or above.

The relationship between socio-economic background and mathematics performance was weaker than in a number of previous PISA cycles. Socio-economic background explained 7.8% of the variation in mathematics performance, while the socio-economic gradient was 27 points. Both measures were significantly lower than in 2022 and a number of earlier PISA cycles.

Second-generation immigrant pupils achieved a mean mathematics score of 504 points, significantly higher than the 466 points achieved by non-immigrant pupils. First-generation immigrant pupils achieved 479 points, which was not significantly different from either group.

1.4 Reading

Scotland achieved a mean reading score of 488 points in 2025. This was not significantly different from 493 points in 2022. Over the longer-term, reading performance was significantly lower than in 2000, 2003, 2012 and 2018, but was not significantly different from 2006, 2009, 2015 or 2022.

Scotland’s reading score was significantly above the OECD average of 461 points. Of the participating OECD countries and UK administrations, six performed significantly better than Scotland, five performed at a statistically similar level and 29 performed significantly below Scotland. Within the UK, Scotland performed significantly below England, significantly above Wales and at a statistically similar level to Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom overall.

Girls achieved a mean reading score of 503 points, significantly higher than the 473 points achieved by boys. The longer-term pattern differed between the two groups. Boys’ performance in 2025 was significantly lower than in several previous cycles, including 2018 and 2022, while girls’ performance was not significantly different from most previous cycles.

In 2025, 20.4% of pupils performed below Level 2 in reading. This was significantly higher than in 2009, 2012 and 2018, although it was not significantly different from 2006, 2015 or 2022. At the upper end of the scale, 7.3% of pupils performed at Level 5 or above, significantly lower than in 2018 but not significantly different from the other cycles shown.

The relationship between socio-economic background and reading performance was significantly weaker than in previous cycles. Socio-economic background explained 3.6% of the variation in reading performance in 2025, significantly less than in every previous cycle between 2006 and 2022. The socio-economic gradient was 19 points, also significantly smaller than in every previous cycle shown.

Second-generation immigrant pupils achieved a mean reading score of 521 points, significantly higher than the 489 points achieved by non-immigrant pupils. First-generation immigrant pupils achieved 499 points, which was not significantly different from either group.

1.5 Learning in the Digital World

PISA 2025 introduced Learning in the Digital World, which examines pupils’ ability to build knowledge and solve problems using computational tools and practices. The results in this report relate to the computational problem solving component of the assessment.

Scotland achieved a mean computational problem solving score of 515 points. Almost three in ten pupils (29.7%) performed at Level 5 or Level 6, the two highest proficiency levels, while 17.5% performed at Level 1 or below. This indicates that a substantial proportion of pupils demonstrated advanced computational problem solving skills, although there remained considerable variation in performance.

Scotland’s score was significantly above the OECD average of 500 points and significantly above 24 participating OECD countries and UK administrations. Seven countries and economies performed significantly better than Scotland, while a number of others, including Ireland, Czechia and Austria, performed at a statistically similar level.

Across the UK, Scotland performed significantly below England and the United Kingdom overall, significantly above Wales and at a statistically similar level to Northern Ireland. Among girls, however, Scotland’s performance was statistically similar to England and the United Kingdom overall.

Both boys and girls in Scotland achieved computational problem solving scores significantly above the respective OECD averages.

Socio-economic background explained around 3% of the variation in computational problem solving performance in Scotland, and a one-point increase on the ESCS scale was associated with an average increase of 17 points. Both measures indicated a significantly weaker relationship between socio-economic background and performance in Scotland than across the OECD on average.

1.6 Environmental science

PISA 2025 introduced a new environmental science assessment measuring pupils’ ability to apply scientific knowledge and reasoning to environmental issues and challenges.

Scotland achieved a mean score of 493 points, significantly above the OECD average of 480 points. As this was the first PISA cycle in which environmental science was assessed in this way, there are no comparisons with previous cycles.

Across the UK, Scotland performed significantly below England and the United Kingdom overall, significantly above Wales and at a statistically similar level to Northern Ireland. Both boys and girls in Scotland performed significantly above their respective OECD averages.

Pupils also generally believed that action could make a difference to the environment. 83.1% agreed that there were things they could personally do to have a positive impact on the environment and 84.1% believed environmental issues could be resolved if people worked together.

However, fewer pupils reported taking part in the specific environmental activities measured by PISA, and 36.0% said they were interested to some or a large extent in contributing to environmental protection through their future jobs.

This compared with 61.6% across the OECD.

1.7 Pupils’ experiences of school and learning

The PISA questionnaires provide a broader picture of pupils’ experiences of school and learning. Overall, the findings show a combination of strong support from teachers and families, positive attitudes towards school and learning, and challenges relating to staffing and digital resources, attendance, bullying and preparation for adult life.

Support for learning was a clear strength. 87.9% of pupils said their science teacher helped pupils with their learning in every or most lessons, 85.1% said their teacher gave extra help when needed, and 81.3% said their teacher showed an interest in every pupil’s learning. Family engagement was also high, with 83.1% of pupils saying their family asked what they had done at school at least weekly.

Pupils also generally reported positive attitudes towards school. 82.3% disagreed that school has been a waste of time, 74.4% felt that they belonged at school and 80.0% said they made friends easily. Pupils also reported high levels of curiosity, with around eight in ten saying they were curious about many different things and liked to know how things work.

Headteacher questionnaire findings identified pressures relating to staffing and digital resources. These findings should be interpreted with caution because the headteacher questionnaire did not meet the OECD participation standard for national reporting, with responses covering between 50% and 75% of the target population. Among pupils covered by the responses, 50.9% attended schools where headteachers reported that a lack of teaching staff hindered instruction to some extent or a lot, rising to 64.3% for assisting staff. A lack of digital resources was reported to hinder instruction for 30.4% of pupils, while 31.7% attended schools where inadequate or poor quality digital resources were reported to hinder instruction.

There were mixed findings on preparation for life beyond school. While 70.4% of pupils agreed that school has taught them things that could be useful in a job, 43.5% agreed that school has done little to prepare them for adult life.

PISA 2025 also provides new evidence on pupils’ use of artificial intelligence. 29.8% of pupils reported using AI chatbots at least weekly to help them learn, compared with 45.5% across the OECD. At the same time, 32.0% of pupils in Scotland reported never or almost never using AI for any of the schoolwork purposes examined, compared with 14.0% across the OECD.

Attendance and bullying remain important issues. 38% of pupils reported skipping at least one class or whole day of school in the previous two weeks, while 50.3% reported arriving late at least once. 19.6% reported experiencing at least one form of bullying a few times a month or more, although most pupils did not report frequent bullying.

Taken together, the questionnaire findings point to substantial strengths in the support pupils receive and their engagement with school, and, based on the more limited headteacher questionnaire evidence, challenges relating to workforce capacity, digital provision, attendance, bullying and preparation for adult life.

1.8 Overall picture

PISA 2025 presents a mixed picture, but with a number of important positive findings.

The longer-term decline in performance remains an important challenge. Scotland’s science, mathematics and reading performance all remain significantly below that achieved in a number of earlier PISA cycles, and substantial proportions of pupils are performing below baseline proficiency, particularly in mathematics. However, there was no statistically significant change in Scotland’s mean performance in science, mathematics or reading between 2022 and 2025. The results are consistent with a stabilisation in mean performance following the longer-term decline, rather than a return to previous levels.

Scotland’s international position also provides important context. Scotland performed significantly above the OECD average in science and reading and in both of the new areas reported in PISA 2025 - computational problem solving and environmental science. Mathematics performance was statistically similar to the OECD average.

There were also important findings on the relationship between socio-economic background and performance. Socio-economic background remained associated with performance, but the strength of that relationship varied between domains. The most marked finding was in reading, where both measures of the relationship between socio-economic background and performance were significantly weaker than in every previous PISA cycle shown. The relationship was also significantly weaker than in 2022 in mathematics and science. These findings do not mean that socio-economic inequalities in performance have disappeared, but they show that the strength of the association between socio-economic background and performance can vary over time and across areas of learning.

The wider evidence on pupils’ experiences identifies further strengths. Pupils reported high levels of curiosity, positive relationships and belonging at school, strong support from teachers and families and generally positive views about the value of their education. At the same time, the findings identify challenges around attendance, bullying, preparation for adult life and, based on the more limited headteacher questionnaire evidence, staffing and digital provision.

Taken together, the results show an education system that continues to face important challenges in raising performance, particularly in mathematics and at the lower end of the proficiency distribution. However, the latest PISA cycle does not show a continuation of the decline in mean performance seen over the longer-term. Scotland also demonstrates strengths in emerging areas of learning, performs above the OECD average in several domains, shows encouraging findings on the relationship between socio-economic background and performance in some areas, and reports substantial strengths in the support pupils receive at school and at home.