Türkiye posts strongest OECD gains in all three PISA subjects

Türkiye recorded the strongest improvement among OECD countries across science, reading, and mathematics in the 2025 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), outpacing the organization’s average in two subjects and matching it in the third while most member states posted declines, according to results released simultaneously worldwide.

Science and reading breakthrough

In science — the primary focus of the 2025 cycle — Turkish students scored 494 points, an 18-point rise from 2022 and 26 points above 2018 levels, placing the country 12 points clear of the 482-point OECD average and reversing a historical performance gap. Reading scores climbed 16 points to 472, surpassing the OECD mean of 461 and marking a dramatic reversal from 2018 when Türkiye trailed the benchmark by 21 points, according to the assessment administered to 7,702 students across 203 schools in 56 provinces between April 14 and May 16. The gap between Türkiye and the average across all 91 participating countries widened to 52 points in reading, up from just 13 points seven years ago.

Mathematics and elite performers

Mathematics performance rose nine points to 462, effectively erasing the previous deficit and bringing the country to parity with the OECD average of 463, while the share of high-performing students expanded significantly across all three disciplines. The proportion of Turkish students reaching the top performance levels in science hit 7.4 percent, exceeding the OECD average of 7.2 percent for the first time and rising from 4 percent in 2022, while reading jumped from 1.9 percent to 4.2 percent and mathematics rose from 5.4 percent to 7.9 percent. The country’s rankings improved markedly, climbing to 19th in science, 18th in reading, and 28th in mathematics among 91 participating economies, with OECD-internal rankings rising to 14th, 13th, and 23rd respectively.

Long-term trajectory

Türkiye was the sole OECD member to register score increases in all three subjects over the past decade, with science results improving 60 points since the country's first participation in 2003 when it ranked 35th, and relative ranking position rising 64 percent. Between 2003 and 2025, reading scores advanced from 441 to 472 and mathematics from 423 to 462, even as the OECD average declined across the board. Student surveys indicated that physical and social learning environments in Turkish schools exceeded the OECD average, with education systems less affected by teacher shortages and quality gaps than other member states, the report noted.