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The 10 Best School Systems in the World at Science |
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The OECD published PISA 2025 on September 8. It tested 760,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries and economies, with science as the main subject. Four Chinese provinces returned after skipping 2022 and finished first by 37 points. |
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Source: OECD, PISA 2025 Results, Vol. I (8 Sep 2026). Mean science score, 15-year-olds. China = Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang. *Sampling standards missed. |
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| What's Surprising |
The United Kingdom scored 511, up 12 points since 2022. It is one of only four OECD countries whose science scores rose. It now ranks eighth in the world and second in Europe, behind Estonia.
Hong Kong went the other way. Its score fell 25 points, tied with Latvia for the steepest drop among the 74 systems that can compare with 2022. At 496, Hong Kong now trails the United States.
America scored 502 in science, 20 points above the OECD average. In maths it scored 463, exactly the average. Only 45% of the sampled American schools agreed to take part before replacements were added.
| What's Not Surprising |
Asia holds six of the top seven places. Estonia, at 527, is the only exception. The four Chinese provinces also led the world in maths, at 612.
The rich world keeps sliding. The OECD science average was 489 in 2015. It is 482 now. Maths fell 22 points over the same decade and reading 28. All three averages are the lowest PISA has recorded.
The bottom of the table shows the spread. Rwanda scored 317, 280 points behind China. Across the OECD, 20% of 15-year-olds are now low performers in all three subjects, up from 16% in 2022.
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612 China's maths score, the highest in PISA 2025. The OECD average is 463, a gap of 149 points. |
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1.8% Share of students in the four Chinese provinces who fall short in science, reading and maths at once. The OECD average is 19.7%. Rwanda's is 86.5%. |
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45% Share of sampled American schools that agreed to take part before replacements. The OECD says it cannot rule out bias in the US results. |
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−25 Hong Kong's fall in science since 2022, tied with Latvia for the steepest drop of any system that can compare. |
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28% Students who say classmates are distracted by digital devices in most or every science lesson. In China, Japan and Korea it is under 10%. |
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Two things. First, American sampling: school response was 54% even after replacements, and the OECD cannot say which way any bias runs. Second, phones. Schools with clear phone rules report fewer distracted students. The next PISA round is 2029. We'll be watching. |
