Asia dominates as global student performance slides
High-school students across Asia are pulling ahead of their Western peers in reading, science, and math, according to the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) released this week by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The results land as artificial intelligence reshapes how young people learn and intensifies a global race for technical talent.
Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Singapore led the rankings. Japan, South Korea, Macao, and Taiwan also placed in the Asia-dominated top 10 across all three subjects. Meanwhile, US secondary students saw reading scores fall close to 25-year lows.
The gap between Chinese and American students remains stark, particularly in the four Chinese jurisdictions that submitted scores. The results come amid an escalating rivalry between Washington and Beijing over technological leadership and research funding. Both nations exceeded $1 trillion in research spending in 2024, and China has surpassed the US in published scientific reports.
Critical thinking declines in the AI age
The OECD report warned that AI adoption could significantly affect secondary education. Andreas Schleicher, OECD director for education and skills, pointed to a troubling pattern in the data.
"Most troubling is the decline in the very skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources, and thinking critically about what we read," Schleicher wrote. "In a world increasingly flooded with information, our students are less likely to think deeply and separate signal from noise."
The proportion of "hasty readers" - students who rushed through texts and gave incorrect answers - nearly doubled between 2018 and 2025. Average OECD performance in science, reading, and math has hit record lows. The percentage of students below baseline performance climbed to 20% last year, up from 16% in 2022.
Digital distraction and classroom focus
The study identified digital distraction in classrooms as one challenge. Fewer than 10% of students in China, Japan, and South Korea reported that peers were distracted by digital devices during science lessons, compared with a global average of 28%. Singapore, the report said, uses technology in classrooms while emphasizing reading comprehension early - an approach that may offer a model for balancing digital tools with foundational skills.
Student performance has also become less tied to national or family wealth as technology has spread, the report noted. For educators working through these shifts, the AI Learning Path for Teachers offers practical guidance on integrating AI without sacrificing core instruction.
China's PISA data draws criticism because testing covers only four of the country's wealthiest eastern regions. Still, the decade-long decline in US scores has alarmed many educationalists. A Stanford University study cited in the report estimates that achieving basic PISA aptitude among all 15-year-old Americans could add more than $40 trillion to the US economy over their working lives.
Why this matters for educators
The PISA results carry a direct message for teachers and school leaders: the skills slipping fastest - evaluating sources, synthesizing information, thinking critically - are the same skills students need to use AI responsibly. The OECD data suggests classrooms that limit digital distraction while building reading comprehension early produce stronger outcomes. For educators and policymakers tracking these trends, the AI for Education resource hub covers the intersection of AI tools and classroom practice.
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