Key Takeaways
- US reading scores dropped 14 points on the 2025 PISA exam versus 2022.
- The gap between top and bottom US readers is now the widest worldwide.
- The US still ranked 13th globally in reading, above the OECD average.
American teenagers continue to lose ground in reading, with new international test results showing a 14-point score drop and a widening gap between strong and struggling students.
A Widening Achievement Gap
The Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA, tested more than 700,000 students across roughly 90 education systems in 2025. The exam measures reading, math, and science skills among 15-year-olds worldwide.
US reading scores fell 14 points from the last test cycle in 2022. The gap between the highest-performing 90th percentile students and the lowest-performing 10th percentile students in the US was the largest recorded among all participating countries. Acting NCES Commissioner Matthew Soldner noted the divide between high and low performers is now wider than it was a decade ago.
The results echo an earlier warning sign. Reading scores among US 4th and 8th graders also declined in 2024, based on separate national testing data. Together, the two reports point to a sustained decline in reading ability across multiple age groups.
Experts Point to Long-Term Stagnation
Education researchers say the international results confirm concerns that have been building for years. Kevin Huffman, head of the education nonprofit Accelerate, said the trend among older students has been troubling for some time.
Huffman noted that US Reading Scores and the gap between top and bottom performers may partly stem from disrupted learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also cautioned that if higher-performing students continue to do well, it could reduce pressure on schools and policymakers to address struggles among lower-performing students nationwide.
Despite the concerning trends, the picture is not entirely negative. US average scores in reading and science remained above the OECD average for participating countries. Only Singapore and parts of China posted meaningfully higher averages in those two subjects.
Where the US Stands Globally
The rankings show a mixed position for the United States on the world stage. The country placed 13th overall in both reading and science among all participating education systems.
Math performance told a different story. The US ranked 27th in math, falling outside the top 25 nations tested. Scores in both math and science showed no significant change compared to results from 2022 and 2015, the benchmarks PISA uses to track short- and long-term trends.
The OECD organizes and administers the PISA exam every three years, drawing participation from more than 30 developed nations alongside dozens of other education systems, providing data used to assess US Reading Scores. The National Center for Education Statistics oversees the test for American students, alongside the domestic NAEP assessment.
With two separate reports now pointing to declining reading performance, education researchers say the coming years will be critical for tracking whether new instructional approaches can reverse the trend before the next testing cycle arrives.
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