Swiss schools remain strong overall but basic skills are slipping

Switzerland remains above the OECD average, yet its basic skills are moving in the wrong direction. The latest PISA results place Swiss 15-year-olds among the stronger performers in the rich world, but the national scores have weakened since 2015.

Mathematics fell from 521 points in 2015 to 499, a decline of about 4%. Reading dropped from 492 to 470, also roughly 4%. Science has been more stable, moving from 503 to 501. Switzerland also scored 520 points in a new assessment of model-based problem-solving, which tests how pupils use digital tools to analyse information and develop solutions.

The international ranking still looks respectable. Among 91 participating countries and economies, Switzerland stood ninth in mathematics, 13th in model-based problem-solving, 14th in science and about 18th in reading. Those positions matter for a country that relies on a highly trained workforce and a selective vocational education system.

The weaker scores matter more. Reading underpins performance in every subject, while mathematics remains central to apprenticeships, technical training and daily economic life. A system can retain a strong international position while leaving more pupils behind.

Nearly three in ten Swiss 15-year-olds failed to reach the required reading level. The latest figures show 29% below the benchmark in reading, compared with 23% in mathematics and 21% in science.

These are distribution figures, not simply changes in national averages. They show how many pupils struggle to demonstrate the knowledge and skills expected at their age. Reading is the most exposed area, and its weakness can spread into other subjects. A pupil who cannot follow a complex written explanation will face difficulties in a science experiment, a mathematical word problem or vocational training instructions.

The figures also carry an equality dimension. Social background, migration history and the language spoken at home remain closely associated with attainment. Christophe Darbellay, Valais's education minister and president of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education, has highlighted the obstacles facing pupils who do not speak the language of instruction at home and those from poorer families.

A narrower gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils since 2022 offers little comfort. The source notes that part of the change reflects weaker results among better-off pupils. Equal outcomes achieved through broad decline would leave schools with the same underlying problems and fewer high performers.

Swiss education leaders are being urged to put literacy and numeracy back at the centre of compulsory schooling. Darbellay said schools may have tried to cover too much, telling RTS: "Perhaps we have spread ourselves a little too thin."

Employers and trade unions have reached a similar diagnosis. Travail.Suisse calls literacy and numeracy a "common concern", connecting them to equal opportunity and employability. The Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts wants reading, writing and mathematics to receive a more central place in compulsory education. The Swiss Employers' Confederation warns that weak basic skills could restrict the supply of skilled workers.

Economiesuisse has also reported reading and arithmetic deficiencies among some young people entering vocational training. Its survey was not representative, so it cannot quantify the problem across Switzerland. Its findings nevertheless fit the direction of the PISA results and the concerns heard from companies that depend on apprenticeships.

The debate is not simply about adding lessons. Teachers already work within crowded curricula and face rising demands around inclusion, mental health, digital competence and language support. Any return to fundamentals will require clear priorities, suitable materials and time for practice. Cantonal differences will shape how that happens, since Swiss education remains strongly decentralised.

The forces behind the decline remain disputed, with pandemic disruption and digital distraction both under scrutiny. The pupils taking the latest tests were children when Covid disrupted schooling. Absenteeism has also remained high in many wealthy countries, making it difficult to separate temporary disruption from longer-term changes in learning habits.

OECD education director Andreas Schleicher has pointed to smartphones and social media. In his analysis, pupils may spend less time concentrating on demanding texts and may rush through assessments as "hasty readers", making avoidable mistakes. Weak reading can then depress results in mathematics and science, where pupils must interpret dense instructions and data.

Artificial intelligence adds a newer complication. Swiss teenagers use AI for schoolwork more than many of their OECD peers. That fact does not establish that AI has damaged learning. It does raise a practical issue for schools: whether digital tools are helping pupils analyse and revise, or allowing them to bypass the difficult work of forming an answer.

Teaching methods are part of the argument too. Critics of pupil-led and discovery-based approaches say they can displace explicit instruction and practice. Supporters reject any single explanation for a decline across different education systems. The evidence does not justify a simple verdict.

Switzerland still has time to correct course, but the next response will need evidence rather than educational fashion. Finland's experience offers a warning against assuming that a respected school model will preserve its results indefinitely. Finland ranked first in science and second in reading and mathematics in 2006. It later fell to 12th in science, 16th in reading and 22nd in mathematics, according to the source.

That decline does not prove that progressive teaching methods or Finland's 2016 curriculum reform caused the change. Nor do smaller classes and higher spending automatically guarantee stronger results. Several high-performing Asian systems show that organisation, curriculum, teaching quality and sustained practice can matter alongside resources.

For Switzerland, the immediate task is more specific. Schools need to identify pupils who are falling behind in reading, mathematics and science, strengthen support for children learning the language of instruction, and protect time for systematic teaching. Cantons will have to judge which interventions improve outcomes rather than simply add initiatives.

The country enters this debate from a position of relative strength. Its international standing gives policymakers room to act before decline becomes entrenched. The next PISA cycle will show whether Switzerland can turn concern about basic skills into measurable improvement.