{
  "id": 6311019,
  "title": "Maths, reading and science skills among young people fall again in global assessment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/maths-reading-and-science-skills-among-young-people-fall-again-in-6311019",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-08T18:02:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/09/08/maths-reading-and-science-skills-among-young-people-fall-again-in-global-assessment/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new report detailing the latest Programme for International Assessment (Pisa) test results reveals a continued decline in maths, science and reading skills among school pupils worldwide, following the Covid-19 pandemic. Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which administers the Pisa tests, expressed particular concern over the decline in reading abilities, which are deemed crucial in the digital age. He noted that the proportion of \"hasty readers\" - students who quickly answer questions without fully comprehending the text - nearly doubled between 2018 and 2025. The UAE stands out as a global outlier, recording improvements in all three subjects and ranking first among Arab countries. However, it still lags behind the OECD average. Pisa tests, conducted every three years, evaluate 15-year-olds, with the 2025 assessment based on the performance of over 750,000 students in 91 countries. In the OECD, the average scores for maths, reading and science have all fallen since the 2022 and 2025 assessments, with the baseline for each category set at 500 in 2001. East and South-East Asian nations continue to perform strongly, with countries like China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea near the top. The UAE's average scores improved to 453 in maths, 433 in reading, and 458 in science, marking a 21, 15 and 26-point increase respectively. Only seven countries among the 91 tested saw increases across all three categories. Dubai's private schools are among the world's top 10 education systems according to the latest Pisa assessment, reinforcing Dubai's position among the leading education systems globally and achieving a target set out earlier.",
  "summary": "A decline in maths, science and reading skills among school pupils worldwide seen after the Covid-19 pandemic has continued, according to new figures. Warnings of a “particularly concerning” fall in young people’s reading abilities, described as being particularly important in a digital world, come in a new report detailing the latest Programme for International Assessment (Pisa) test results.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "Maths, reading and science skills among young people fall again in global assessment",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/maths-reading-and-science-skills-among-young-people-fall-again-in",
        "published": "2026-09-08T18:02:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}