U.S. reading scores plummeted over three years, study finds

An international think tank study released on Tuesday reported a 14-point drop in reading levels among American 15-year-olds over a three-year period, from 2022 to 2025, when the study was conducted. That decrease was aligned with a simultaneous drop in average reading scores internationally. Data from 2025 showed a 28-point drop in the average reading score for teenagers, according to the report from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD.

About 760,000 students from across roughly 90 countries completed the think tank’s Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, administered every three years. The test aimed to gauge the reading, math, and science comprehension of 15-year-old students across the world stage. The OECD reported a 28-point drop in reading scores across participating countries over the last decade, and a 22-point drop in math comprehension over the same period.

So where did the United States rank? PISA results showed American 15-year-olds ranked in 13th place for reading comprehension, with Singapore achieving the highest score. Students from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and China outscored U.S. students, according to the data. Despite U.S. scores dropping 14 points since the last test in 2022, American students still outscored the OECD’s reading average, according to the think tank.

What about other subjects? 2025 data showed little change in American math and science scores compared with the 2022 data, the OECD reported. The science scores exceeded the international average and came in 13th place on the international scoreboard. Math scores fell slightly short of the OECD average and ranked internationally just below Germany’s ranking at 26th place.