Spain hits historic low in PISA Science scores

Spain posts its lowest-ever PISA Science score as bilingual education comes under scrutiny

Fifteen-year-old students in Spain have achieved their lowest Science results since the inception of the PISA report. This decline, accompanied by a general drop across other areas, has reignited debate on the Spanish educational model and the actual impact of reforms over the last decade. Initial reactions from economic circles were marked by disbelief, recalling that the previous edition detected anomalous response patterns in reading comprehension, with entire test sections answered identically in impossible timeframes. However, that episode did not affect the Science test, which now marks this historical minimum.

Regional map: Galicia leads, Ceuta trails

The internal gap is as significant as the national average. In Science, a student from Galicia averages 519 points, a level comparable to Canada or Taiwan. A student from Ceuta scores only 415 points, 95 points lower, placing them in the range of Costa Rica or Albania. International comparisons also reveal uncomfortable figures: the gap with China exceeds 110 points, equivalent to nearly three school years of difference.

The territorial breakdown fuels political interpretations of all kinds. Some attribute the advantage of the northwestern quadrant to decades of conservative governments, while blaming southern delays on socialist management. Others point out that the Chinese regions evaluated are the most developed coastal provinces—Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang—not the country as a whole, and that Hong Kong and Macao are also counted as part of China. Thus, the comparison is not as clean as it appears.

Why is bilingualism seen as suspect?

One of the most repeated hypotheses points to the bilingual model implemented in communities like Andalusia. The argument is that introducing English in first grade and teaching content subjects—including Science—in a language the student does not yet master may hinder concept acquisition. The specific case cited involves a second-grader still consolidating reading skills in Spanish who faces the challenge that English is not read the same way. Critics argue this approach reinforces neither skill.

This criticism relies on the evolution of results: each educational reform has cut hours for scientific subjects to expand courses like Citizenship Education, Communicative and Creative Practices, or Introduction to Business Activity. Practically, these are easier subjects that mask failure rates while more demanding sciences lose margin. The consequence is a system that produces more excellence than deficiency in some indicators but generates more deficiency than excellence overall.

Comparison with Asia: hours, discipline, and academies

Contrasts with Asian systems appear in almost every discussion. The most common explanation is not genetic or abstractly cultural: it is study hours. In South Korea, students leave school and attend academies until dinner; then they do more homework. In China, Japan, or Korea, teachers hold quasi-sacred status, education is quasi-military, and failing is a family disgrace. Here, the opposite diagnosis: the shift from "strict discipline" to "learning through play" without building anything solid in between.

Not everyone accepts this framework. Some note that Finland, long revered as a model, has declined in PISA, meaning comparisons with Nordic countries are no longer unbeatable arguments. Others directly question the test's validity: if past data was absurd or current data is, or both, the historical series does not allow for clean comparisons.

Socioeconomic factor and classroom diversity debate

The social composition of classrooms is another axis of analysis. It is argued that regions with higher concentrations of immigrant populations and deeper pockets of marginalization tend to achieve worse results, and that homogeneous environments perform better than what one participant called a miniature UN. This claim lacks supporting data and coexists with contrary evidence: one in ten students from the most disadvantaged quartile reaches high performance levels, suggesting poverty conditions but does not determine outcomes.

The full calculation, with breakdowns by community and performance levels, reveals a surprising pattern: where there are more excellent students, there are fewer severely deficient ones, and vice versa. The general trend shows declining excellence and rising deficiency, though each community presents its own profile. Madrid, according to this view, produces human capital; other regions do not.

---

With these disparities, domestic migration of families with children should be massive toward communities with better results. It is not. Meanwhile, the gap with Asia continues to grow without any reform managing to close it.