University graduates in England scored only marginally higher on reading comprehension tests than Finnish adults whose formal education ended at secondary school, according to the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development's (OECD) latest annual education report.
The OECD examined reading skills among representative samples of adults in 24 countries and found that English degree holders posted an average score of 291, barely above the 288 average for Finns with only a secondary school education. The OECD said a score in this range is roughly equivalent to the ability needed to analyse a long newspaper feature.
Among degree holders, Finland recorded the highest average score, 313. England's average remained above the OECD world average of 283, but lagged behind several other high‑performing countries, including Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. The report drew on a representative sample of at least 5,000 adults in each participating country to compare skills across populations.
The results highlighted stark differences in how education systems across countries translate into measured literacy among adults. The OECD report noted that Finnish adults with only secondary education outperformed university graduates in a number of countries, including Italy, Spain, New Zealand and Ireland.
Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's director for education and skills, said the findings suggest a “disconnect between the skills needed to pass university exams and everyday literacy skills.” He added: “In the case of England, the skills of adults have been pretty flat, and degrees are rising. How do we interpret this? Are those skills not measuring what universities want to be about, or do we see it as a kind of inflation of degrees?”
The OECD report used a cross‑national reading comprehension assessment administered to representative adult cohorts to produce comparable scores. It did not assign causes for the differences beyond observational correlations, and it cautioned that scores represent measured performance on specific tasks rather than a full account of all knowledge or competencies acquired through higher education.
Education experts and policymakers have long monitored international comparisons of literacy and numeracy to assess the effectiveness of schooling and adult learning systems. The OECD’s findings add to a pattern in which several countries’ secondary education systems, notably Finland’s, produce adults with relatively high basic reading skills, while some countries with rising university attainment do not show parallel improvements in measured adult literacy.
The report's release is likely to renew debates in England about the alignment of higher education outcomes with everyday skills and the labour market, and about measures to improve literacy among adults. The OECD recommended continued monitoring and targeted policy responses to address gaps between educational attainment and the skill levels needed for full participation in civic and economic life.