Spain's education gap: Secondary students would fail Japan's primary level
Neuroscientist Michel Desmurget argues Spanish secondary students lack the literacy of Japanese peers, citing a one-year learning loss in Spain from 2018 to 2022.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Spain loses a school year: The decline pandemic alone cannot explain
The level of Spanish secondary education is now equivalent to that of primary school in Japan. This claim comes from French neuroscientist Michel Desmurget and, while it may sound like an exaggeration, the data he presents makes it difficult to dismiss. Between 2018 and 2022, Spain lost the equivalent of one school year: today’s 13-year-olds handle material that 12-year-olds mastered six years ago. The pandemic does not fully account for this, as the decline began earlier.
Who is Desmurget and what does he argue?
A doctor in neuroscience trained at MIT and the University of California, and research director at INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research). His essay La Fabrique du crétin digital won the Femina Essay Prize, and he has now published More Books, Fewer Screens. His recurring diagnosis: intelligence has been noticeably declining for 20 years. He defines a "digital cretin" as a child deprived of essential human traits: language, knowledge, and concentration skills.
The researcher goes beyond headlines. His thesis is that screens do not just steal reading time but also disrupt sleep quality and reduce verbal interactions crucial for vocabulary development. This creates a vicious cycle: if children arrive at school less prepared, expectations are lowered, cementing the decline.
Why would a Spanish secondary student be sent back to primary school in Japan?
Because the drop in proficiency at the end of primary education is detected across OECD countries—France, Spain, Germany, the US—but Asian nations perform significantly better. If a first-year high school student from Spain or France studied in Singapore or Japan, they would be placed back in primary school due to their reading level. A colossal gap, he says bluntly.
This comparison has nuances. Critics note that Asian systems rely on extreme academic pressure, leading to student burnout and mental health issues, making direct model transfer impractical without social context. The gap exists; the solution is not easily exported.
"Giving every child a laptop is intellectual fraud"
He refers specifically to Catalonia’s device distribution model. His argument is not that technology is inherently bad, but that in classrooms it is not used as claimed: if you give tablets to children in school, they do not use them to learn. He distinguishes between attention trained by video games and the concentration required for studying.
Data on actual usage undermines educational narratives. Between 80% and 90% of screen time is spent on TV, Netflix, and YouTube; then come video games and, in adolescence, social media. A French school year totals 850-860 hours. Total screen time from ages 3 to 18 equals 27 school years.
The quadratic equation no one wanted to solve
A classroom anecdote illustrates the issue better than charts. According to a teacher, in a higher vocational training course, students were asked to solve a quadratic equation using Python, covering all cases. They replied they were there to study computer science, not math, and threatened to complain to the principal. The exercise was replaced with an easier one.
This episode highlights a fundamental problem: it is not just a lack of knowledge, but the normalization of the idea that rigorous subjects are optional based on the degree title. On this ground, any digitization plan arrives late and flawed.
The rest of the equation: curriculum, teachers, and expectations
Some argue focusing on screens distracts from other issues: curriculum design, subject coordination, publishers, and early-stage teacher training, where much of the system’s capacity lies. There is also debate about heterogeneous classrooms where some students arrive with language and skill gaps, affecting the whole group.
Conversely, others believe the critique misses the mark, arguing the problem is institutional design: a system promoting students by political decision and abandoning rigor. Both narratives share an uncomfortable fact: degrees have multiplied while measured levels fall.
Regarding reading, there is a counterpoint. Against the idea that certain formats don’t build habits, some recall starting with comics and devouring classics by age twelve, despite parents who only read newspapers. The entry point to reading is rarely what pedagogues design.
Given these factors, laptops will likely stay in backpacks, and the gap with Asia will continue to widen. Desmurget calls for more books and fewer screens; calendars, curricula, and regional competencies show no sign of moving in that direction. Change, if it happens, will not come from an essay. Yet, with this data, arguments are certainly not lacking.
Data supporting the diagnosis
The level of Spanish secondary education is now equivalent to that of primary school in Japan. This claim comes from French neuroscientist Michel Desmurget and, while it may sound like an exaggeration, the data he presents makes it difficult to dismiss. Between 2018 and 2022, Spain lost the equivalent of one school year: today’s 13-year-olds handle material that 12-year-olds mastered six years ago. The pandemic does not fully account for this, as the decline began earlier.
Who is Desmurget and what does he argue?
A doctor in neuroscience trained at MIT and the University of California, and research director at INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research). His essay La Fabrique du crétin digital won the Femina Essay Prize, and he has now published More Books, Fewer Screens. His recurring diagnosis: intelligence has been noticeably declining for 20 years. He defines a "digital cretin" as a child deprived of essential human traits: language, knowledge, and concentration skills.
The researcher goes beyond headlines. His thesis is that screens do not just steal reading time but also disrupt sleep quality and reduce verbal interactions crucial for vocabulary development. This creates a vicious cycle: if children arrive at school less prepared, expectations are lowered, cementing the decline.
Why would a Spanish secondary student be sent back to primary school in Japan?
Because the drop in proficiency at the end of primary education is detected across OECD countries—France, Spain, Germany, the US—but Asian nations perform significantly better. If a first-year high school student from Spain or France studied in Singapore or Japan, they would be placed back in primary school due to their reading level. A colossal gap, he says bluntly.
This comparison has nuances. Critics note that Asian systems rely on extreme academic pressure, leading to student burnout and mental health issues, making direct model transfer impractical without social context. The gap exists; the solution is not easily exported.
"Giving every child a laptop is intellectual fraud"
He refers specifically to Catalonia’s device distribution model. His argument is not that technology is inherently bad, but that in classrooms it is not used as claimed: if you give tablets to children in school, they do not use them to learn. He distinguishes between attention trained by video games and the concentration required for studying.
Data on actual usage undermines educational narratives. Between 80% and 90% of screen time is spent on TV, Netflix, and YouTube; then come video games and, in adolescence, social media. A French school year totals 850-860 hours. Total screen time from ages 3 to 18 equals 27 school years.
The quadratic equation no one wanted to solve
A classroom anecdote illustrates the issue better than charts. According to a teacher, in a higher vocational training course, students were asked to solve a quadratic equation using Python, covering all cases. They replied they were there to study computer science, not math, and threatened to complain to the principal. The exercise was replaced with an easier one.
This episode highlights a fundamental problem: it is not just a lack of knowledge, but the normalization of the idea that rigorous subjects are optional based on the degree title. On this ground, any digitization plan arrives late and flawed.
The rest of the equation: curriculum, teachers, and expectations
Some argue focusing on screens distracts from other issues: curriculum design, subject coordination, publishers, and early-stage teacher training, where much of the system’s capacity lies. There is also debate about heterogeneous classrooms where some students arrive with language and skill gaps, affecting the whole group.
Conversely, others believe the critique misses the mark, arguing the problem is institutional design: a system promoting students by political decision and abandoning rigor. Both narratives share an uncomfortable fact: degrees have multiplied while measured levels fall.
Regarding reading, there is a counterpoint. Against the idea that certain formats don’t build habits, some recall starting with comics and devouring classics by age twelve, despite parents who only read newspapers. The entry point to reading is rarely what pedagogues design.
Given these factors, laptops will likely stay in backpacks, and the gap with Asia will continue to widen. Desmurget calls for more books and fewer screens; calendars, curricula, and regional competencies show no sign of moving in that direction. Change, if it happens, will not come from an essay. Yet, with this data, arguments are certainly not lacking.
Data supporting the diagnosis
- One school year was lost between 2018 and 2022: 13-year-olds now have the level of 12-year-olds from six years ago
- A French school year totals 850-860 hours
- Screen time from ages 3 to 18 equals 27 school years
- 80-90% of screen consumption occurs via TV and streaming platforms
- Intelligence has been noticeably declining for 20 years
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (201 replies).
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