PISA 2025 results: Affluent students decline at double the rate of those with fewer resources

PISA 2025: Wealthier students decline at double the rate of their less privileged peers in Spain

The latest PISA report, presented on September 8th, contains a finding that defies common assumptions: the performance of the most privileged students has dropped more than double that of those with fewer resources. In Spain, this trend is sharper than the OECD average. The decline primarily affects reading competency, with the fourth richest group losing 33 points compared to 15.1 among the poorest.

A gap narrowing from above
Although students with higher socioeconomic status continue to achieve better results, the gap has narrowed. The decline is most intense in reading, mathematics, and science for the privileged group, but their absolute level remains superior. The analysis notes: “The OECD calls this a weakening of the performance of students who traditionally excelled.”

Criticism and skepticism
Some readers doubt the usefulness of PISA, believing that students lack incentives to strive in an anonymous test. Others suspect the data is used to distract from problems within the education system. But the numbers are conclusive: in science, the most privileged score 71 points higher, equating to more than three school years.

The paradox is that the educational divide is narrowing not because those at the bottom are catching up, but because those at the top are sinking. That is the uncomfortable lesson of PISA 2025. Until the data proves otherwise, those who maintain that “everything is fine” must explain why knowledge erodes precisely where it should be most consolidated.