Finland’s 15-year-olds recorded further declines in reading, mathematics and science in the latest PISA assessment, extending a fall that has lasted for years. Despite the drop, Finnish pupils remained above the OECD average in all three subjects, with science continuing to produce the country’s strongest results.
The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment, published on Tuesday, tested more than 760,000 students across 91 countries and economies.
In Finland, 7,668 pupils from 235 schools took part, according to the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Reading showed one of the clearest declines.
Finland’s average reading score fell to 474 points, down 16 points from 2022. The country placed joint 17th with Italy.
More than one in four Finnish pupils now perform below the basic proficiency level in reading. Among boys, the share is around one in three.
The long-term fall is sharper. In 2006, Finland’s average reading score stood at 546 points, while only 7 per cent of pupils were classed as weak readers.
Mathematics results also continued to weaken.
Finland ranked around 22nd to 23rd, depending on the final table used, while remaining slightly above the OECD average. Nearly one in three Finnish pupils now fall into the low-performing group in mathematics.
The share of top-performing mathematics students has also fallen. In 2003, more than 23 per cent of Finnish pupils reached the highest levels. In 2025, the figure was 7 per cent, below the OECD average.
Science remained Finland’s strongest area.
Finnish pupils scored 504 points, down from 511 in 2022, and ranked 12th among participating countries and economies. The change from the previous round was not statistically significant, although the long-term trend remains downward.
Finland was the highest-performing Nordic country in science.
Estonia outperformed Finland across several areas and remained one of Europe’s strongest education systems. East Asian countries and regions, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Chinese jurisdictions, occupied many of the top positions.
The OECD said learning outcomes have either stalled or declined in many countries since the large fall recorded in 2022.
Across OECD members, mathematics scores fell by 22 points between 2015 and 2025, while reading scores dropped by 28 points.
The OECD also found that socio-economic gaps narrowed partly because performance among pupils from higher-income families declined, rather than because lower-income pupils improved.
That pattern was also seen in Finland.
Another concern in the Finnish results was persistence.
Only 41 per cent of Finnish pupils said they try harder when schoolwork becomes difficult, the lowest share among the countries and economies included in the comparison.
Finnish pupils still reported high confidence in their own abilities.
The 2025 assessment also examined learning in the digital environment. Finnish pupils performed above the OECD average in that area.
The OECD said moderate use of digital tools for learning was linked with stronger science results, while excessive use and classroom distraction were linked with weaker performance.
Finland also took part for the first time in the optional assessment of English as a foreign language. Those results are due in spring 2027.
HT
