Canadian teens score well on OECD tests, but sharp drops in reading, math raise concerns

Learning outcomes for all participants stagnate or continue to fall: OECD

Canadian teens have good knowledge of science, reading and math, according to a major international assessment, but the latest PISA results also indicate a long-term slide in scores for all three subjects, with a steep and worrisome drop in the latter two over the past few editions.

That downward trend — amid an overall decline for teens worldwide — raises concerns for some educators and researchers, who hope the latest results propel policymakers toward more consideration and action to improve student learning.

The joint body comprising all Canadian ministers of education and higher education noted as much in a statement earlier this week, saying, "comparative results over time emphasize the imperative for ongoing attention to educational outcomes."

Held every three years, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests 15-year-olds in about 90 countries and economies worldwide on three subjects, with a heavier, rotating focus on one subject each edition.

For the 2025 edition, about 24,600 students across Canada participated (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut did not participate and are not represented in the results). Additional data about student attitudes, behaviours and school atmosphere was gathered from student and school principal questionnaires.

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The latest results show Canadian students rank above the OECD average and among the upper tier of top-performing PISA participants globally.

Canadian students scored 510 points in science, 490 in reading and 485 in math. Students from China and Singapore were the highest performers.

Yet comparing Canadians' performance to past editions shows a notable decline over two decades. Canada has slipped gradually in science (24 points since 2006) and fallen sharply in reading and math (declining 37 and 42 points respectively since 2006, with a drop of 30 and 27 points alone since 2018).

Though small variations in scores are expected, the OECD considers changes greater than 20 points (which represent a school year's worth of learning) statistically significant.

"If a country’s score falls by 20 points between two PISA assessments, it is as if students were performing at the level expected of 14-year-olds in the previous cycle," it says.

"The steepness of these declines post-pandemic is ... what some would call shocking. I would call it very concerning," said Louis Volante, a professor at Brock University who researches international achievement testing, educational governance and policy.

Volante points to factors that researchers think are impacting student achievement: more digital distractions, increased use of artificial intelligence since the last edition and teacher shortages worldwide.

"When you put those three together, they are being attributed to really having a negative impact on overall rating scores," he said from Oakville, Ont.

The 2025 edition had the lowest OECD-average performance observed so far, the organization said. After an unprecedented drop in performance in 2022 — the first edition reflecting the disruptions of COVID-19 — learning outcomes across all participants stagnated or continued to fall in 2025, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann wrote in a report detailing the latest results.

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He singled out an overall steep drop in reading scores as particularly of note "because reading skills underpin learning across the curriculum and are essential for finding, evaluating, interpreting and reflecting on information in an increasingly digital world."

Countries with the largest reading declines also tended to see the largest drops in science and math, he said.

It's something seen in classrooms, as well. Both with her students in the West Quebec School Board and the University of Ottawa, Tasha Ausman has noticed a decline in student reading comprehension and ability to identify key information.

During a test for an advanced math class this week, "students were asking me things that were directly written in the question," the high school teacher and university educator shared as an example.

Meanwhile, her post-secondary students regularly email questions easily answered at the start of her syllabus — like which textbook to buy or where to buy it.

She praises students today as empathetic as they team up with classmates, eager to learn and connect and excited by hands-on learning. Yet she's also found them much more stressed by tests and struggling with some basics.

"It's not a lack of willingness. I think it's an actual literacy challenge."

Canada slow to change, says consultant

In the past, Canada was a top 10 PISA participant, but our school systems have since weakened and we've been slow to respond, says education consultant Paul Bennett, director of Schoolhouse Institute.

The PISA results are "a cause for alarm, especially given the dramatic declines since 2015. The trends that were visible in 2022 after the pandemic are proving to be more permanent than we ever imagined," he said from Halifax.

"We've lost ground to the countries in Asia who have focused much more on test preparation. They're much more in favour of direct instruction. They've had great success in teaching that way."

Given that education is a provincial rather than federal responsibility in Canada, as well as the different socioeconomic and other challenges in each jurisdiction, Bennett feels Canada has been inconsistent with education policy updates and changes.

He noted, for instance, that in provinces with higher PISA scores — Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec — "there's much more of a focus on the science of learning," he noted. "They were early onto it. They've begun to match their teaching methodologies with what works in the classroom."

Bennett thinks a host of practices require fresh consideration, from screen learning and technology use to a comeback for physical textbooks.

"I don't want to turn back the clock," he said, "but we need to readjust our focus."

What's behind sliding student performance is a billion-dollar question for everyone, says Darryl Hunter, a recently retired education professor at the University of Alberta.

PISA, national tests like the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program and provincial assessments are designed to serve as periodic status checks, Hunter explained — to inspire deeper conversation, thorough investigation and new research to guide educational policymakers.

"If Canada is going to be a dynamic country in the future, we have to attend to the performance of our students."

While PISA results are a high-profile measure, Volante at Brock University cautions it should be taken in perspective and that comparing test scores shouldn't be the sole focus.

The student and principal questionnaires dive into what Volante called "non-cognitive" aspects, things like whether students are curious, seek help or believe in their own ability to achieve, as well as school attendance, if they read for pleasure, feel they belong and whether they receive family support.

Those indicators contribute to a more holistic picture of how schools are doing, he said, noting that faring well in these areas is linked to stronger student outcomes.

"Success in the future will not solely be dictated by how well [students] do in reading, math and science," Volante said.

"We hear a lot of rhetoric around, 'We need our reading and math and our science scores to go up so that we can improve our economy.' But I would argue 'Yes, we do, but we also need all these other things as well.'"

Based in Toronto, Jessica Wong covers Canadian education stories for CBC News. In a past life, she covered national and international arts and entertainment news. You can reach her at jessica.wong@cbc.ca.

With files from Deana Sumanac-Johnson and James Dunne