Korea near top but lags behind China and Japan in reading, science and math, OECD study finds

Korean students remain among the top performers in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in science, reading and mathematics, but lag behind China and Japan in the three categories.

Korean students also displayed a sharp decline in reading scores over the past three years, which has raised concerns about literacy, according to the research released by the organization on Tuesday.

The OECD released the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2025, or PISA 2025, on Tuesday. Conducted every three years, the study compares the academic performance of 15-year-old students worldwide. About 760,000 students from 91 countries and economies, including all 38 OECD member states, participated in the latest assessment.

Korean students ranked among the OECD’s top performers in every subject. Among OECD members, Korea ranked between No. 1 and No. 3 in the science subcategories with an average score of 526, between No. 1 and No. 9 in reading with 501 and either No. 1 or No. 2 in mathematics with 522.

PISA also introduces an innovative domain for each assessment to measure skills considered important for students in the future. Korea ranked between No. 2 and No. 5 among OECD members in the latest domain, learning in the digital world, with a score of 538.

Japan and Estonia were among the OECD countries that outperformed Korea. Japan scored higher than Korea in all three core subjects, with 538 in science, 503 in reading and 525 in mathematics. Estonia scored 527 in science, one point above Korea.

Korea fell further down the rankings when all 91 participating countries and economies were included, behind China, Singapore and Taiwan in some subjects. China — represented by Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang — ranked No. 1 overall in science with 597 and mathematics with 612.

China’s reading score of 527 placed it second behind Singapore, which scored 535. Macao, China, ranked No. 1 in the newly introduced Learning in the Digital World assessment, while Korea placed eighth overall.

The most notable decline for Korea from the previous PISA assessment in 2022 came in reading. Korean students’ average reading score fell 14 points, from 515 in 2022 to 501 in 2025. In the previous assessment, Korea scored 528 in science and 527 in mathematics.

The share of low-performing students also increased most sharply in reading. The proportion at Level 1 or below, the lowest category on PISA’s seven-level proficiency scale, rose 4.7 percentage points from 26.3 percent in 2022 to 31 percent last year. The share of high performers at Level 5 or above fell 3 percentage points from 13.3 percent to 10.3 percent over the same period.

“As digital content spreads and smartphone dependence deepens, students are becoming more accustomed to accepting biased information than questioning what they read,” said Lee Deok-nan, the director of the Educational Culture Team at the National Assembly Research Service. “The literacy decline we feared is now showing up in international data.”

Lee called for urgent need to introduce digital literacy education.

“Schools urgently need to teach digital literacy so students can critically understand and interpret the information they encounter,” Lee added.

Interestingly, for Korean students, where students come from matters less than the OECD average.

Korea scored 0.17 on PISA’s index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS) above the OECD average of 0.01. But differences in ESCS explained 7.7 percent of the variation in science performance, 7.3 percent in reading and 10.6 percent in mathematics, all below the OECD averages.

The ESCS index is calculated using factors including parents’ occupations, education levels and household assets. A higher index indicates a more advantaged economic, social and cultural background. A higher percentage of variation in academic performance explained by ESCS indicates that parental background has a greater influence on student achievement.

“Some countries, such as Singapore and China, rank higher than Korea in academic achievement but also show a greater influence of parents’ economic and social status on student performance,” an Education Ministry representative said. “The results suggest that Korea has a relatively equitable educational environment compared with those countries.”

The ministry plans to use the results to improve Korea’s approach.

“Based on these results, we will strengthen reading education linked to the school curriculum to improve students’ basic literacy and expand support for classes centered on questions and discussion,” the representative said.

BY LEE BO-RAM [[email protected]]