Jess Casey: Despite good PISA results, Ireland must heed drop in maths and reading scores

Rather than pat ourselves on the back for doing better than many other countries, we must work to to reverse the growing divide in Ireland

Irish teens remain among the best in the EU and OECD when it comes to reading amid lower test scores and a drastic drop in reading scores internationally. Picture: iStock 

Wins for Ireland in the 2025 international PISA results are set against a stark international backdrop of declining standards, stagnation, increasing distraction, and disengagement.

Irish teens remain among the best in the EU and OECD when it comes to reading, an achievement Ireland has held on to despite lower test scores and an overall drastic drop internationally.

The country is also listed as one of seven to have an education system that demonstrates “both socio-economic fairness and strong performance".

Maths and reading deterioration in Ireland

But Ireland's moderate successes do not, and should not, distract from potential warning signs, notably the deterioration in the performance of maths and reading scores over the last decade. 

Conducted every three years, now moving to a four-year cycle, PISA is the largest international study of educational outcomes, assessing how well a country’s 15-year-old students perform in reading, maths and science.

Like all tests, they cannot fully measure the full extent of a student’s talents and abilities, or the full value of an education system. 

But policymakers the world over pay close attention to their results. 

The skills assessed under the three domains of reading, maths, and science underpin learning, understanding and interpretation, which in turn are the very foundations on which education is built.

International data 

Internationally, 2025 is not a good year for the tests by any means.  There was a marked decline in the skills that matter most in the age of AI, such as evaluating information, making connections across sources, and thinking critically.

In turn, the share of so-called "hasty readers" — students who rush through texts and give quick but wrong answers — almost doubled between 2018 and 2025.

Between 2015 and 2025, average reading scores fell by 28 points across OECD countries, equivalent to the loss of about 1.5 years of learning.

Maths scores fell across the same timeframe by 22 points, equivalent to a loss of just over one year of learning.

Irish PISA results 2015-2025 

In the decade between 2015 and 2025, Ireland has fallen 18 points when it comes to its performance in reading, and 23 points in maths.

Across the OECD, one in five 15-year-old students are now estimated to be ‘low performers’ across maths, reading and science.

These are students who, according to the OECD, “lack the foundational skills needed to succeed in further education, employment and everyday life”.

In Ireland, this figure is almost one in four (24.2%) in maths, and more than one in 10 in science and in reading (17.6% and 16.5%).

Uncertainty why those scores are declining 

Policymakers here aren't yet sure of the causes that may have led to declining scores. It's more than likely down to a mix of factors, and researchers are likely to consider different aspects of the education system in their search for answers. They might turn to school attendance, increased digital distraction and the impact of AI. It's also highly probable these are not the causes of declining scores but rather a symptom of increasing disengagement. 

The notable, persistent gap between the scores of students in non-disadvantaged schools and those attending disadvantaged schools should also give pause for thought. There remains a significant achievement gap in 2025 between students attending disadvantaged schools and students who do not. 

Covid impact on education gap

Outside of PISA, it's also seen at primary level, where the pandemic “intensified” the gap in reading and maths between the children attending disadvantaged schools and those who do not. 

It comes at a time when the ongoing expansion of digital learning risks further deepening existing inequalities. This summer research from UL and the ESRI warned that post-primary students' access to digital learning is becoming increasingly dependent on their family's ability to pay.

Startling literacy/numeracy data  

Ireland likes to pride itself on its strong tradition of literacy, given our worldwide reputation as storytellers. It's why figures from the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) caused such a stir earlier this year. 

It estimates that more than one in five adults do not have basic literacy skills, and more than one in four adults have numeracy needs. 

With population growth, this means there are now more adults with literacy and numeracy needs in Ireland than there were 10 years ago.
Rather than pat ourselves on the back for staving off the same level of decline as our international counterparts, we should be asking ourselves what we are doing to reverse the continued growing divide. 

OECD secretary general Mathias Cormann had a simple message for the decision-makers in education: “The starting point is focus: set high, consistent expectations for every student in reading, mathematics and science.”

"Education systems need to favour depth over breadth," he added. 

"Better to teach a smaller set of core topics well enough for genuine mastery than to rush through a long list only superficially. 

"That focus only pays off, though, if the rest of the system supports it: curriculum, teaching and assessment need to reinforce each other rather than pull in different directions, and classrooms need to be kept free of avoidable digital distractions, for instance by limiting non-instructional phone and device use during lessons. 

"Resources also need to be matched to need, especially for disadvantaged students and schools."

• Jess Casey, Education Correspondent