VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltese 15-year-olds have recorded significant declines in reading, mathematics and science, according to the latest PISA international assessment.
Reading suffered the sharpest drop, with Malta’s average score falling by 30 points from 445 in 2022 to 415 in 2025.
Mathematics also declined, from 466 points in 2022 to 439 in 2025, while science fell from 466 to 453.
All three results were below the OECD average, which stood at 463 for mathematics and 463 for science in 2025.
The PISA assessment, organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), measures how well 15-year-olds apply their knowledge in reading, mathematics and science.
A total of 3,680 students from 46 Maltese schools took part, representing around 95 per cent of the country’s 15-year-old population.
The results showed Malta had a lower-than-average proportion of high-performing students and a higher-than-average share of low performers.
PISA uses an international benchmark of 500 points, with results grouped into different skill levels according to the tasks students can complete.
Students sat a two-hour assessment covering two subjects, with different groups receiving different combinations of questions.
The test included both multiple-choice questions and tasks requiring students to construct their own answers.
The OECD report also examined students’ school experiences, including bullying, school resources, digital tools and family support.
It found that 91 per cent of Maltese students had used AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini.
Maltese students reported using AI chatbots more frequently than the OECD average for learning, preliminary research, summarising texts and drafting writing assignments.
Family engagement also declined, with 66 per cent saying parents or guardians asked weekly about their school day in 2025, down from 73 per cent in 2022.
Weekly discussions about school-related problems fell from 58 per cent to 46 per cent.
Meanwhile, 23 per cent of Maltese students said they had been bullied, compared with an OECD average of 20 per cent.
Internationally, Singapore recorded the highest reading scores, while China led in mathematics and science. Rwanda recorded the lowest scores.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
