Reading scores among 15-year-olds across OECD countries have sunk to their lowest point since international testing began, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) highlighting how longer screen time and declining rates of reading for pleasure have coincided with weaker literacy outcomes.
The findings come from PISA 2025, the largest edition of the assessment to date, which tested 760,000 students across 91 countries and economies. Average reading scores across OECD countries fell by 28 points between 2015 and 2025, a drop the organisation says is equivalent to roughly a year and a half of learning.
