‘Israeli’ education scores collapse to historic lows amid war disruptions

‘Israeli’ students recorded historic lows in reading, mathematics and science on the latest international PISA assessment, with sharp declines that erase years of prior gains and leave them effectively missing substantial learning; exacerbated by prolonged disruptions including school closures and remote learning during multi-front conflicts and the war involving Iran.

The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 results, based on tests of 15-year-olds conducted in early 2025 amid ongoing fighting on several fronts, show ‘Israel’s’ average scores plunging to 436 in reading (down 38 points), 433 in mathematics (down 25 points), and 442 in science (down 23 points).

These are the lowest scores for ‘Israel’ since it began participating in PISA, comparable to levels last seen around 2006–2009, and represent one of the steepest declines recorded among OECD countries since the study’s inception in 2000—particularly in reading, where only a handful of cases have seen drops of 35 points or more in a single cycle.

By contrast, OECD averages fell more modestly (about 14 points in reading and 9 in mathematics, with science largely stable).

The share of ‘Israeli’ 15-year-olds classified as low performers reached the highest levels since 2006: 46% in mathematics, 41% in reading, and 40% in science. The proportion of top performers also fell sharply (for example, excelling readers dropped from 11% to 5%).

Education Minister Yoav Kisch attributed the results primarily to the war and its effects, stating: “The education system did the best it could under the circumstances. We are doing everything to provide meaningful responses. PISA reflects the changes that occurred in the last three years and mainly the consequences of the situation here, of the war, on the education system.”