Korean 15-year-olds' reading ability drops considerably over past 3 years: report
Korean 15-year-olds' reading ability dropped significantly over the last three years, an OECD report showed Tuesday, likely partly due to the increased use of digital and social media. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment 2025, the cohort's average reading score was 501, down 14 points from the previous assessment…
A recent OECD report reveals a significant decline in the reading abilities of Korean 15-year-olds over the past three years, potentially attributed to the growing use of digital and social media. The Programme for International Student Assessment 2025, conducted by the OECD, found that the average reading score of the cohort dropped by 14 points, from 516 in 2022 to 501 in 2025.
The assessment, which involved around 760,000 students from 91 countries, including 38 OECD member states, aimed to evaluate and compare the reading, mathematics, and science skills of 15-year-olds across nations. In Korea, the assessment was conducted on 6,859 students at 196 schools, resulting in a reading score that placed the country at rank 13, a drop from its previous rank of 12.
The report assigns ranking ranges to each country, taking into account the margin of error, rather than a single rank.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
