AI Use Contributes to Global Decline in Student Reading Skills, PISA Study Shows
OECD says 20% of 15-year-olds now score below basic levels in reading, mathematics and science, with hasty reading and AI use rising.
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that reading scores among 15-year-olds dropped to their lowest level in 25 years, driven by widespread reliance on generative AI tools and social media.
- Average reading scores across OECD member nations fell by 25 points between 2018 and 2025—representing a loss equivalent to roughly one year of formal schooling—with the steepest declines observed among socioeconomically advantaged students.
- OECD Education Director Andreas Schleicher noted that while 46% of students use AI chatbots weekly for schoolwork, "outsourcing" cognitive tasks to AI turns students into "hasty" readers who process information quickly but struggle with critical evaluation, complex analysis, and long texts.
- The report highlighted that passive technology use and digital distractions in classrooms are eroding essential learning habits, showing that students who frequently rely on AI for homework score significantly worse on closed-book exams.
- Schleicher urged governments to adopt strict school smartphone bans and reform educational AI use toward structured "Socratic questioning" methods rather than letting bots perform students' research and writing.
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12 Articles
PISA 2025: Students’ reading and mathematics performance declined sharply across the OECD
Student performance across OECD countries has continued to decline, reaching the lowest average ever recorded by the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in mathematics and reading. Across the OECD, one in five 15-year-old students is now a low performer in science, mathematics and reading, up from 16% in 2022.
The Economic Times
Times of India15-year-olds are reading, calculating and reasoning worse than ever, thanks to AI, OECD finds
Global 15-year-olds show weakest performance in reading, math, and science tests. Reading scores declined significantly, with students now performing at a lower level. Mathematics also saw a sharp drop, while science remained relatively stable. Digital distractions and AI use present complex challenges for learning outcomes. Wealthier students experienced the largest score declines, narrowing socio-economic gaps.
School Students Who Use AI Get Worse Test Scores, OECD Warns
Students who do not use AI chatbots for schoolwork are outperforming those who do, according to the OECD’s flagship educational report, providing some of the widest-ranging evidence yet that the technology could be hurting children’s learning.
Wall Street Journal
Hindustan TimesAI Use Contributes to Global Decline in Student Reading Skills, OECD Says
The widespread use of AI tools and social media platforms has contributed to a sharp deterioration in the reading skills of high-school students around the world, according to the OECD, with potential implications for the long-term economic outlook.
Pupils getting worse at reading, maths and science, PISA study shows
Student performance in reading, maths and science is declining across OECD countries, and the traditional divide between advantaged students and disadvantaged pupils no longer holds. How do EU countries measure up?
For the first time since the introduction of the test procedure, the performance of domestic pupils in all disciplines is significantly higher than the OECD cut. However, this is only because the successes in the other OECD countries have fallen even more. However, there are also positive exceptions.
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