Students in Japan see ability to read quickly and accurately decline in PISA survey

The ability of Japanese students to read quickly and accurately is declining, according to the latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey released on September 8 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Among the three fields measured by PISA, reading literacy was the only one where the percentage of correct answers significantly decreased from the previous survey in 2022.

Japan's reading literacy ranking dropped from eighth place in the 2003 survey to 14th in the 2025 survey, a decline referred to as the "PISA shock" that prompted changes in the country's relaxed education approach. The ranking also fell to 15th place in the 2018 survey but has since recovered.

The reading literacy measured in the survey assesses the ability to understand, use, evaluate, and reflect on texts to achieve goals and participate in society. In terms of specific abilities, students' skills in finding information and understanding texts showed little change compared to the 2022 survey. However, the percentage of correct answers fell significantly for questions measuring the ability to read quickly and accurately, dragging down the overall correct-answer rate for reading literacy.

Students read 21 to 22 short sentences within three minutes and indicated whether each sentence made sense or not.

One potential factor behind the decline is the shift away from reading books. According to the National Assessment of Academic Ability, the percentage of junior high school students who do not read books on weekdays has risen to over 40%, a first in the 2025 survey. A survey by the Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute and the University of Tokyo found that the number of students not reading books increased by 1.5 times between 2015 and 2024.

While the percentage of correct answers for questions on finding information, understanding, and evaluating and reflecting has remained stable, it seems premature to attribute the decline solely to the amount of reading.

Another factor could be the usage of social media. The official from the ministry suggested that students may be clicking "like" or sharing on social media without paying much attention due to the flow of very short text pieces. This could lead to instant liking when they encounter fragmentary and potentially inaccurate information or only headlines and summaries of news articles, without critical reading or comparison of similar information.

The next curriculum guidelines, set to be implemented from academic year 2030 onward, aim to enhance learning about the characteristics of social media and media literacy, which could help improve the ability to read quickly and accurately.