Iceland records steepest PISA decline among participating systems

Iceland’s education performance has continued to deteriorate, with the country recording a larger overall decline since 2015 than any of the more than 70 countries and territories included in the OECD’s PISA assessment, mbl.is reports.

Education and Children’s Affairs Minister Inga Sæland said the latest results, presented on Tuesday, were a “red card” for children’s academic performance in Iceland. She described the situation as extremely serious and said action was needed to reverse the trend.

“We have reached the bottom. I believe we have reached it, and now there is no option other than going up and pushing strongly away from the bottom,” Inga said.

The assessment was completed by 15-year-old students in spring 2025 and covered science, reading comprehension and mathematics. Compared with the 2022 results, Iceland’s score fell by 14 points in reading comprehension, nine points in mathematics and six points in science. The decline in science was not considered statistically significant.

The OECD report specifically states that the sharp fall recorded in the previous assessment has become part of a clear long-term trend. The previous results were published in December 2023, after the assessment was conducted in 2022. Iceland had then recorded the largest decline of any country since the 2018 assessment.

Inga announced increased emphasis on basic skills in core subjects and a review of the curriculum with clearer priorities. A total of 455 million Icelandic króna will be allocated to the production and publication of new educational materials.