The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is preparing to release the latest results from its flagship international education assessment, with the PISA 2025 findings scheduled for publication on September 8 – 2026

The upcoming release will provide a fresh international comparison of how 15-year-old students are performing across participating education systems. According to the OECD, the 2025 assessment places particular emphasis on science, while also examining student performance in reading, mathematics and computational problem-solving.

The Programme for International Student Assessment, widely known as PISA, is one of the world’s largest comparative studies of student achievement. Rather than focusing only on whether students can reproduce classroom material, the assessment examines how effectively young people can apply knowledge and skills to real-world situations.

The 2025 cycle is therefore expected to attract considerable attention from governments, education authorities and researchers seeking to understand how education systems are responding to changing academic and technological demands.

Science Takes Centre Stage

Science is the main domain of the 2025 PISA cycle. The OECD will also publish results covering reading, mathematics and computational problem-solving, providing a broader picture of student capabilities across key areas of learning.

The inclusion of computational problem-solving is particularly significant as digital technologies become increasingly embedded in education, employment and everyday life. Understanding how students approach complex problems using digital tools and reasoning skills has become an increasingly important policy issue.

The OECD has already indicated that the results will be presented during a global virtual press conference led by Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. Andreas Schleicher, Director of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, is also scheduled to present the principal findings.

Countries Preparing for a New Global Education Benchmark

The publication could provide governments with fresh evidence for evaluating their education policies and identifying areas requiring improvement.

PISA results are frequently used by policymakers to compare educational outcomes across countries and economies. However, the figures are also interpreted alongside wider factors such as school resources, socioeconomic conditions, teaching practices and access to educational opportunities.

The 2025 results are consequently expected to generate debate well beyond simple rankings, particularly around what successful education systems are doing differently and how other countries might adapt effective approaches to their own circumstances.

Release Comes at a Significant Moment for Education Policy

The OECD’s announcement comes as education systems worldwide are adapting to rapid technological change, including the growing influence of artificial intelligence and digital learning.

The organisation has separately been examining the changing role of technology in education through its research and policy work. Its 2026 Digital Education Outlook, for example, examines emerging research on generative AI and effective uses of digital technologies in education.

The PISA 2025 findings will therefore arrive at a time when governments are facing broader questions about how schools can prepare students for economies increasingly shaped by digital technology and artificial intelligence.

The OECD has scheduled the international launch for 8 September 2026 at 9:30 CEST, making the report one of the organisation’s most closely watched upcoming releases.