Japan Ranks First in PISA Study Amid Global Decline in Student Performance
5 sources across 4 countries · Germany · Chile · France · Japan
Who reported this
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- La Tercera
- France 24
- The Japan Times
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Japan has ranked top in core subjects among OECD countries for the first time according to the latest PISA study. While Japan achieved top marks, several other nations reported significant declines. French middle school students saw a tumble in math, science, and reading comprehension. In Chile, average results for 2025 were lower than those of 2022 in mathematics and reading, with a decline exceeding 20 points since 2015. German students also performed poorly in the international comparison. In Germany, 6,700 youths across 250 schools were tested. Some analysts suggest that the decline in student levels is a global trend affecting a large part of the OECD countries. The 2025 study introduced Learning in the Digital World as an innovative domain, though specific results for digital learning will not be published until 2027. In Chile, 51 percent of students reported using AI chatbots for learning at least once a week, which is higher than the OECD average of 46 percent.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- This report frames the results as a comparison between the failure of the German system and the success of the Japanese model.
- Centre
- These reports focus on the general decline of student levels and the systemic struggle to reverse the trend.
- Centre-right
- These reports emphasize the importance of disciplinary knowledge and specific policy interventions, such as early language support and regular performance measurement.
Sources
- Centre France 24: Pisa: is France at the bottom of the class? Let's talk about it with H. Duminil-Copin, T. Cojean and B. Larseneur
- Centre France 24: Pisa Ranking: how to stop the decline in student levels?
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: What Hessen is doing right: The lessons from the PISA study
- Centre-right La Tercera: In defense of knowledge: the PISA test and the aporias of education
- Centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Pisa study: What German schools can learn from the Japanese test winners
- Centre The Japan Times: Japanese 15-year-olds rank top in core subjects among OECD countries for the first time
89% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.