The 2025 PISA test scores have once again raised concerns about Argentine students’ learning outcomes.

The PISA test, designed and administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in various education systems around the world in math, reading, and science every three years.

It is a standardized assessment with common criteria for all participating countries and not tied to any specific school curriculum. The first edition took place in 2000, and Argentina has participated every time except for 2003.

Argentina’s performance in all three subjects declined compared to the last test in 2022 and was below the OECD average in all three assessed areas.

The result is particularly concerning in math: 76% did not reach the minimum performance level established by PISA. This means that only 24% reached Level 2 or higher. In 2022, the percentage of students below that threshold was 73%.

The country scored 367 points in math, 11 fewer than in the previous assessment. This result represented a 2.9% decline, placing Argentina 75 among 91 participating education systems. 

In Latin America, the country came in eighth out of 13.

Concern over structural problems

According to Lucía Vallejo, a data analyst at Argentinos por la Educación (Argentines for Education), an NGO that works to improve the quality and equity of the education system, part of the decline can be explained by regional dynamics that also affected other countries. 

The situation in Argentina, however, reveals a deeper problem.

“The country has been experiencing a steady decline in PISA math scores since 2009, which points to a structural problem,” she explained to Herald sister publication Ámbito.

Furthermore, these warnings extend across the entire curriculum. While some improvements are beginning to appear in........

© Buenos Aires Herald