Spain suffers major setback in PISA 2025, widening gap with the EU
The PISA 2025 report confirms Spain's decline in Mathematics, Science, and Reading. With 20.3% of students from migrant backgrounds, the gap with the EU grows wider.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
PISA 2025: Spain drops in Math, Science, and Reading, moving further from the EU
The PISA 2025 report has confirmed what many educators have been warning: the Spanish education system is failing to prepare its students for 21st-century challenges. In this edition, Spain has fallen short in all three categories assessed by the OECD – Mathematics, Science, and Reading– and has widened its gap compared to the European average. However, the data is not a simple diagnosis of failure: student composition has changed, and the impact of migration has become the most debated factor in the analysis.
The decline is widespread: neither math nor reading escapes criticism
The trend is not a momentary stumble. The PISA executive report, which assesses the readiness of 15-year-olds, shows a simultaneous decline in all three assessed areas. The gap with the European Union average is widening, suggesting that countries neighboring ours are doing something that is not being done here. It is not merely a problem of resources; in fact, Madrid and Castilla y León are ranked among the regions with the highest scores, while other communities with very different political management lag behind. The correlation between results and years of a certain administration has become common knowledge, though the statistical evidence is more nuanced: there are exceptions that debunk any simplification.
The migratory factor: one in five students is from a foreign background
One of the most debated pieces of data is the weight of students from migrant backgrounds: 20.3% of the total, four points above the OECD average. The question is how much this composition affects the overall result. Some argue that the arrival of students with very low starting levels drags down averages, but the report itself nuances this: when adjusted for socioeconomic status, the achievement gap between native and migrant students shrinks dramatically and falls below both the OECD and EU averages. In other words, the determining factor is not origin, but social extraction. This does not prevent the argument that, in practice, classrooms are adapting at a slower pace to integrate everyone, which harms advanced students. A recurring observation in professional debate is that primary and elementary school teachers note that the brightest children are held back so as not to disrupt the rest. According to this view, school has stopped being a place of excellence and become a daycare center.
The most cited example: a 12-year-old student who hands in five euros for snacks that cost 1.75 and does not know how much change to receive.
Teachers and educational laws: the two main battlegrounds
The other major focus of discontent is the situation of teachers. Criticism persists regarding the lack of rigor in teacher training and 'gamification' as the dominant pedagogy, which was imposed with the promise of motivation but, according to its detractors, has emptied classrooms of content. Comparisons with educational laws are inevitable: they have gone through the Villar Palasí Law (1970) and LOGSE (1990), up to the five laws that have shaped the last fifty years. The feeling that each legislature destroys the previous one and starts from scratch is not new, but PISA has focused on the results. Meanwhile, in the Valencian Community, teachers are demanding a supplement of more than 500 euros per month for an improvement that their results do not seem to reflect. The paradox: in Madrid, where university professors earn the least, performance is among the country's best. Money, certainly, does not explain everything.
Digitalization and distraction: the mobile phone as a silent enemy
The impact of technology cannot be ignored. Digitalization, artificial intelligence, and the intensive use of social media are presented as instruments of cognitive degradation that seek immediate stimulation. The capacity for attention and contextual retention is diminishing. Some professionals in the sector describe it bluntly: the generation with the greatest access to information has never been so dependent on instant gratification. The result is a mass of citizens who think less and read less, which an education system designed for the 20th century cannot counteract.
The El Salvador example: AI as a possible solution or mirage
One line of analysis has turned its attention to El Salvador, which scored 343 points in Mathematics, 365 in Reading, and 373 in Science in PISA 2022, far below the OECD average. The Salvadoran government launched a pilot program in 171 schools using artificial intelligence as an individual tutor. The results, according to circulating videos, are spectacular: nearly on par with Germany or Sweden. However, critical analysis points out the lack of baseline data from the program schools, turning the experiment into a 'statistical scam'—attributing improvement solely to AI when a complete package of changes was applied. The counter-argument is ready: if it works, Spain should take note; if not, it would be another mirage.
The future in sight
Given the data, recovery will not be quick. The lack of a minimal agreement among political parties on the essentials of education has become chronic, while students wait. The next legislature will be key: either they attack the roots—teacher training, curriculum, equity—or we will continue producing students who do not know how to calculate change. The good news is that the debate can no longer be ignored. The bad news is that there is no consensus on how to fix it.
The PISA 2025 report has confirmed what many educators have been warning: the Spanish education system is failing to prepare its students for 21st-century challenges. In this edition, Spain has fallen short in all three categories assessed by the OECD – Mathematics, Science, and Reading– and has widened its gap compared to the European average. However, the data is not a simple diagnosis of failure: student composition has changed, and the impact of migration has become the most debated factor in the analysis.
The decline is widespread: neither math nor reading escapes criticism
The trend is not a momentary stumble. The PISA executive report, which assesses the readiness of 15-year-olds, shows a simultaneous decline in all three assessed areas. The gap with the European Union average is widening, suggesting that countries neighboring ours are doing something that is not being done here. It is not merely a problem of resources; in fact, Madrid and Castilla y León are ranked among the regions with the highest scores, while other communities with very different political management lag behind. The correlation between results and years of a certain administration has become common knowledge, though the statistical evidence is more nuanced: there are exceptions that debunk any simplification.
The migratory factor: one in five students is from a foreign background
One of the most debated pieces of data is the weight of students from migrant backgrounds: 20.3% of the total, four points above the OECD average. The question is how much this composition affects the overall result. Some argue that the arrival of students with very low starting levels drags down averages, but the report itself nuances this: when adjusted for socioeconomic status, the achievement gap between native and migrant students shrinks dramatically and falls below both the OECD and EU averages. In other words, the determining factor is not origin, but social extraction. This does not prevent the argument that, in practice, classrooms are adapting at a slower pace to integrate everyone, which harms advanced students. A recurring observation in professional debate is that primary and elementary school teachers note that the brightest children are held back so as not to disrupt the rest. According to this view, school has stopped being a place of excellence and become a daycare center.
The most cited example: a 12-year-old student who hands in five euros for snacks that cost 1.75 and does not know how much change to receive.
Teachers and educational laws: the two main battlegrounds
The other major focus of discontent is the situation of teachers. Criticism persists regarding the lack of rigor in teacher training and 'gamification' as the dominant pedagogy, which was imposed with the promise of motivation but, according to its detractors, has emptied classrooms of content. Comparisons with educational laws are inevitable: they have gone through the Villar Palasí Law (1970) and LOGSE (1990), up to the five laws that have shaped the last fifty years. The feeling that each legislature destroys the previous one and starts from scratch is not new, but PISA has focused on the results. Meanwhile, in the Valencian Community, teachers are demanding a supplement of more than 500 euros per month for an improvement that their results do not seem to reflect. The paradox: in Madrid, where university professors earn the least, performance is among the country's best. Money, certainly, does not explain everything.
Digitalization and distraction: the mobile phone as a silent enemy
The impact of technology cannot be ignored. Digitalization, artificial intelligence, and the intensive use of social media are presented as instruments of cognitive degradation that seek immediate stimulation. The capacity for attention and contextual retention is diminishing. Some professionals in the sector describe it bluntly: the generation with the greatest access to information has never been so dependent on instant gratification. The result is a mass of citizens who think less and read less, which an education system designed for the 20th century cannot counteract.
The El Salvador example: AI as a possible solution or mirage
One line of analysis has turned its attention to El Salvador, which scored 343 points in Mathematics, 365 in Reading, and 373 in Science in PISA 2022, far below the OECD average. The Salvadoran government launched a pilot program in 171 schools using artificial intelligence as an individual tutor. The results, according to circulating videos, are spectacular: nearly on par with Germany or Sweden. However, critical analysis points out the lack of baseline data from the program schools, turning the experiment into a 'statistical scam'—attributing improvement solely to AI when a complete package of changes was applied. The counter-argument is ready: if it works, Spain should take note; if not, it would be another mirage.
The future in sight
Given the data, recovery will not be quick. The lack of a minimal agreement among political parties on the essentials of education has become chronic, while students wait. The next legislature will be key: either they attack the roots—teacher training, curriculum, equity—or we will continue producing students who do not know how to calculate change. The good news is that the debate can no longer be ignored. The bad news is that there is no consensus on how to fix it.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (279 replies).
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