Teenagers in the United Kingdom have shown significant improvement in international standardized tests for maths, reading, and science, placing them within the top ten globally for all three subjects, according to a major study.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, conducted every three years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), involved over 760,000 pupils across 91 countries and economies in 2025. The results, published in 2026, indicate the UK's advance in academic performance.
In science, the UK has risen seven places to eighth globally, with a mean test score of 511, up from 500 in 2022. The UK now ranks tenth in reading, a three-place increase, with a score of 494, the same as in 2022. The country also climbed four places in mathematics to tenth, achieving a mean score of 488, a slight decrease from 489 in 2022.
However, the study highlighted disparities within the UK, with England's performance exceeding that of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland across all subjects. This trend is attributed in part to education being managed by each country's devolved governments. England's test scores constituted 84.76% of the total collected for the UK entry.
Discussions around these results have involved political commentary. Schools minister Georgia Gould expressed determination to build on the positive outcomes to ensure all young people leave school with strong literacy and numeracy. Conversely, Conservative education spokesman Laura Trott criticized the new education secretary's potential plans to scale back previous reforms, attributing the UK's improved performance to policies enacted under the previous Conservative government.
Specific analysis of England's data revealed a notable gender gap in science for the first time, with boys scoring an average of 522 and girls 509. While boys have historically outperformed girls in maths, the gap has widened over the past decade, with boys scoring 26 points higher in 2025 compared to 12 points in 2015. Professor Mary Richardson of UCL Institute of Education noted the overall good performance but pointed to persistent gender gaps and potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on socially disadvantaged students.
The reforms implemented in England since 2010, which included toughening the curriculum, overhauling GCSE grading, and prioritizing end-of-year exams, have been cited as a contributing factor to the improved national results. These reforms followed a period of alleged grade inflation under the previous Labour government.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders' union, acknowledged the results as an opportunity to celebrate the work of educators in England, while cautioning against over-interpreting international comparisons between countries at different stages of educational policy development.