PISA results show Swiss pupils losing ground in reading and maths

Swiss 15-year-olds have lost 22 points in both reading and mathematics since 2015. The decline, recorded in the 2025 PISA study, puts renewed pressure on schools, education authorities and politicians to examine how pupils are learning core subjects.

Switzerland’s reading score fell from 492 points in 2015 to 470 points in 2025. Mathematics dropped from 521 to 499 points over the same period. The figures show a substantial deterioration in two areas that shape how students manage further education, vocational training and everyday life.

The results were reported on September 8, 2026, citing the University of Bern and Keystone-SDA. They arrive with an important qualification: Switzerland still sits above the OECD average overall. The country’s 15-year-olds remain competitive internationally, particularly in science and problem-solving.

That wider picture makes the decline harder to dismiss as a collapse in the education system. Swiss pupils continue to perform well, yet the direction of travel in reading and mathematics is clear. The latest results place curriculum priorities, learning gaps and the ability of schools to support pupils under renewed scrutiny.

Reading fell to 470 points, its lowest figure in the comparison provided by the study. The 22-point drop from 2015 places literacy at the centre of the debate over what Swiss schools expect pupils to read, understand and communicate.

Reading proficiency affects more than language lessons. Pupils use it to interpret instructions in mathematics, follow scientific explanations and navigate vocational training materials. A weaker result can therefore reach across the timetable, even when students are not studying German, French, Italian or English as a specific subject.

The source does not provide a breakdown by canton, language region, migration background or socioeconomic group. It also does not identify a single cause for the decline. Those limits matter. National averages show the scale of the change, while further analysis is needed to establish which groups and school settings are most affected.

Switzerland’s reading performance remains behind Estonia and Canada among the reference countries cited in the report. Finland and Italy are described as roughly on a par with Switzerland. The comparison gives policymakers a useful international frame, while the domestic response will depend on evidence from classrooms across the country’s multilingual school system.

Mathematics dropped from 521 points in 2015 to 499 points in 2025. The fall matches the 22-point decline recorded in reading and leaves Swiss pupils below their earlier national performance, even though Switzerland remains a strong performer internationally.

Mathematics has a direct place in Switzerland’s labour market. Apprenticeships, technical training and many professional qualifications require students to work confidently with numbers, formulas and data. The result therefore matters to the academic track and to the country’s widely used vocational route.

The PISA figures do not explain whether the change reflects teaching time, curriculum design, attendance patterns, the effects of the pandemic, digital habits or wider inequalities. They provide a signal for cantonal education departments and schools to investigate. Switzerland’s education system is organised across cantons, so implementation and support can vary locally, although the source does not publish a canton-by-canton comparison.

In mathematics, only Estonia scored higher among the reference countries named in the report. That standing offers useful context, but it does not erase the domestic decline. A system can rank well internationally while still seeing important losses among its own pupils.

Science remained stable at 501 points, 19 points above the OECD average of 482. The result shows that Switzerland retains a solid base in a subject linked to its research institutions, technical industries and skilled workforce.

The study also tested model-based problem-solving for the first time. Swiss pupils scored 520 points, above the international average cited in the report. In this area, Switzerland was surpassed only by Estonia among the reference countries listed by Keystone-SDA.

These results add detail to the national picture. Swiss schools are producing strong outcomes in science and in a newly assessed problem-solving domain, while reading and mathematics have weakened since 2015. The pattern does not point to a single verdict on the school system. It points to uneven performance across subjects and to the need for targeted scrutiny.

Switzerland’s education model combines cantonal responsibility with several pathways, including the dual system of vocational education and training. That structure gives pupils routes into apprenticeships and later qualifications. The new PISA findings will test whether the system can preserve those strengths while addressing weaker foundations in literacy and mathematics.

The next response will have to connect national figures with classroom evidence. The PISA study establishes a clear change in performance, with reading and mathematics each down 22 points since 2015. It does not establish why the change occurred or which interventions will reverse it.

Cantonal authorities, teacher-training institutions and school leaders will need to examine how pupils experience reading and mathematics at different stages of compulsory education. That work should account for Switzerland’s multilingual structure and the range of routes available after lower secondary school. The source offers no regional breakdown, so claims about particular cantons or pupil groups would go beyond the evidence currently available.

The international comparison leaves Switzerland with assets to build on. Its science score remains above the OECD benchmark, and its new problem-solving result is strong. Estonia’s lead in mathematics and problem-solving, along with Canada’s lead in reading, gives Swiss policymakers specific systems to study rather than a vague search for models.

The immediate task is precise: understand the fall in two foundational subjects, identify where support is most needed and protect the practices that continue to produce strong science and problem-solving outcomes.