Swiss pupils remain above average—but reading and maths results are falling

Swiss pupils remain above the OECD average, yet the latest PISA results show a clear retreat in two core subjects. The 2025 assessment found that 15-year-olds in Switzerland scored 470 points in reading and 499 points in mathematics. Both results were 22 points lower than in 2015.

The figures matter because PISA tests skills used across school subjects and in daily life. Reading supports participation in education, work and public life. Mathematics underpins technical training, science and many apprenticeships, all central parts of Switzerland’s education system.

Science offered a more stable picture. Swiss pupils scored 501 points, well above the OECD average of 482 points across 38 member states. The study also introduced model-based problem-solving as a new skill area, where Switzerland reached 520 points.

The result leaves Switzerland in a familiar but less comfortable position. Its pupils still perform strongly by international standards, while the direction of travel has changed since 2015. The University of Bern presented the findings on Tuesday, as reported by Keystone-SDA. The 2025 results were published on September 8, 2026, putting renewed focus on the performance of Swiss schools and the pressures they face.

Reading has fallen from 492 points to 470 points in a decade. That decline places reading among the most important findings in the Swiss results. A score cannot describe every pupil’s experience, but it tracks a broad change across the population tested by PISA.

Reading performance affects more than language lessons. Pupils must understand instructions in science, interpret problems in mathematics and work through information online and in print. Weakness in comprehension can therefore add difficulty across the timetable. The 2025 result gives Swiss education authorities a national signal, although the source material does not identify which groups or cantons experienced the largest changes.

Switzerland still outperformed the OECD average overall in the study. In the international comparison cited by Keystone-SDA, Estonia and Canada ranked ahead of Switzerland in reading, while Finland and Italy were roughly on a par. That places the Swiss result within a strong European field, while also showing that several education systems are setting a higher benchmark.

The figures do not establish why performance declined. Possible explanations include the disruption caused by the pandemic, changes in the pupil population, the design of curricula and rising pressure on schools. Those factors require separate analysis rather than assumptions drawn from a single score.

Mathematics dropped from 521 points in 2015 to 499 points in 2025. The 22-point fall mirrors the change in reading and brings the Swiss result below the 500-point mark, although it remains above the OECD average according to the study’s overall comparison.

Mathematics carries particular weight in Switzerland. The country’s vocational education system channels many young people into apprenticeships that demand practical numeracy, from engineering and construction to health care and commerce. A decline at age 15 does not predict every pupil’s future, but it raises questions about readiness for later academic and professional training.

The international comparison provides some perspective. Switzerland was surpassed only by Estonia among the reference countries cited by Keystone-SDA in mathematics and model-based problem-solving. The country therefore remains close to the leading group, even as its own results have weakened.

PISA does not identify a single cause. School closures and interrupted learning during the Covid-19 pandemic may form part of the investigation, alongside demographic change, curriculum content and pressure on teachers. The published account does not provide canton-by-canton results, information on language groups or evidence that one of these explanations is decisive. Policymakers will need that detail before choosing remedies.

Science held steady at 501 points, while problem-solving reached 520 points. These results show that the Swiss system retains significant strengths and that the decline in reading and mathematics is not reflected equally across every assessed area.

Science placed Swiss pupils 19 points above the OECD average of 482. Model-based problem-solving, tested for the first time in this PISA cycle, produced an even higher score. The assessment asks pupils to work with models and apply reasoning to complex situations, according to the study summary provided by Keystone-SDA.

The combination of results complicates any simple verdict on Swiss education. Pupils can perform strongly in science and a newly assessed problem-solving domain while recording lower scores in two established core subjects. It points towards a debate about how skills are taught, assessed and connected across the curriculum.

Switzerland’s education system is organised through cantons, with different structures and languages across the country. The available source does not break the PISA findings down by canton, school type or linguistic region, so it cannot show where the decline was concentrated. Any national response will need to account for that diversity. The results also offer a base to protect practices that appear to support science and applied reasoning.

Switzerland still sits above the OECD average, but 2025 marks a warning for the next decade of schooling. The country’s international standing remains strong, with Estonia the only cited reference country ahead in mathematics and problem-solving. In reading, Estonia and Canada ranked higher, while Finland and Italy were broadly level with Switzerland.

That position should give policymakers room to respond without discarding the system’s strengths. Switzerland’s dual education model offers routes into apprenticeships and higher education, and the latest PISA results show strong performance in science and problem-solving. At the same time, a 22-point decline in both reading and mathematics since 2015 demands attention from schools, cantonal authorities and the federal level.

The next stage is diagnosis. Officials will need to examine the effects of pandemic disruption, demographic change, curriculum choices and the workload facing teachers. They will also need more detailed evidence on regional and pupil-group differences, which is not included in the source account.

For families, the numbers will be read through the daily experience of homework, language learning and preparation for apprenticeships or further study. For schools, the task is to strengthen basic skills while preserving the applied learning and problem-solving that remain visible in Switzerland’s results.