- PISA results out today highlight the ongoing challenge of
raising standards in Wales' schools.
- However, results show Welsh schools are comparatively
effective at supporting the most disadvantaged learners.
- Reading and science has remained broadly stable since 2022,
providing a platform to improve.
- The Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language has
reassured teachers and leaders that there will be no knee-jerk
response to the results and that plans are in place to support
schools to raise standards.
Today's PISA results are not where anyone in education would want
them to be and reinforce the Welsh Government's commitment to
better supporting schools to raise standards, according to the
Education Minister.
The results show a modest improvement in Wales' science score and
highlight our strengths at supporting disadvantaged learners, but
demonstrate the need to push forward with plans to develop
literacy and numeracy.
Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language said:
Let me be clear, these results are not where we want them to be.
But in many ways, they reinforce what we knew already and
highlight our need to improve standards of reading and maths, as
a priority. We must also do more to ensure our highest-achieving
learners reach their full potential.
I am encouraged that our most disadvantaged learners compare well
internationally, and we are indebted to our teaching profession
for supporting learners to achieve regardless of background. But
it is clear that we have much more work to do.
PISA results are not the only measure of performance and
standards in our schools need to be understood in the round. But
that does not mean that we should ignore them, either and we take
our performance in international studies incredibly seriously.
PISA highlights longstanding issues that require a considered and
joined-up response. This is not the fault of schools or teachers
and we have inherited an education system that lacks clarity,
coherence and a sure sense of direction. These are the things we
have set out to address.
What matters now is what happens next and delivering on our
promise to better support the education system to raise
standards. I will soon be launching our Foundational Literacy and
Numeracy Plan that represents an important first step in the
development of an equitable education system that works for all.
It will set out clearly our expectations for action, make visible
roles and responsibilities and bring people and organisations
together in ways that allow them to get the very best from one
another. Our efforts to raise standards require a holistic
approach and we all have an important part to play.
We are a new government with new ambition and make no apologies
for setting the bar high. But raising standards is a team effort
that will require the expertise, energy and determination of all
with an interest in education in Wales.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an
international study run by the OECD every four years. PISA
assesses how effectively 15-year-olds can apply their knowledge
and skills in reading, mathematics and science to real-world
problems, rather than testing mastery of a specific curriculum.
Around 3,400 Welsh learners took part in September and
October2025.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Notes
Learners participating in PISA will be the last cohort to
undertake PISA who have not studied under the new Curriculum for
Wales.
The Wales PISA report can be found here
