PISA results show why the reforms we are rolling out are so important

The 2025 PISA results released today show Australian students continue to perform above the OECD average in all three domains of reading, maths and science. 

In the global rankings Australia moved up one place in reading, maintained our ranking in maths and moved down one ranking in science, although science scores were maintained. 

Meanwhile the UK jumped three places in reading, four places in maths and seven places in science.

Their results show us what is possible and why the reforms we are rolling out - the sort of reforms England rolled out almost twenty years ago - are so important. 

Reading

The reading wars are over. We know what works to teach children to read. 

Part of that is phonics. 

England mandated phonics in schools in 2006 and they introduced a mandatory Year 1 phonics check in 2012. 

Today’s results show the impact of this. 

In Australian schools that have been doing this for a while we see the same thing that has happened in the UK. But we have to keep going and roll it out everywhere.

That’s what the agreements we have struck with every state and territory are all about. 

It’s the biggest new investment in public schools by an Australian government ever.

It means an additional $20 billion over the next decade to put every public school in the country on a path to full and fair funding. 

The additional funding is tied to real and practical reforms to identify children who need additional support and help students who fall behind to catch up and keep up.

This includes:

•    The Year 1 phonics and numeracy checks.

•    Evidence-based teaching practices.

•    More individualised support, including small-group tutoring.

This year we rolled out a Year 1 phonics check across all Australian public schools for the first time. 

This is something England did 14 years ago.

This will help identify kids who are falling behind when they are little and make sure they get additional support. 

Numeracy 

Maths is sequential. If you don’t understand the basics and the fundamentals, then you get lost and you can’t catch up. 

That’s why reforms like the Year 1 numeracy check to catch kids who are falling behind is so important.

All public schools in NSW and SA are rolling out numeracy checks this year, while most other jurisdictions are piloting the reform.

We are also overhauling the curriculum. Starting with the first three years of maths. 

That work is happening right now. 

It is the sort of work England did in 2014 when they made important changes to the curriculum, including in numeracy.  

Education Ministers will be presented with recommendations about changes to the maths curriculum when we next meet. 

Ministers will also make a decision about the next part of curriculum reform at that meeting. 

Screen time

PISA data also shows the more kids are online, the more their results decline. 

Other tests like TIMSS, PIRLS and previous PISA rounds show the same thing. Students who use screens a lot score lower than those who don’t.

This doesn’t mean there is no place for technology in schools. Students need to learn digital skills. That includes how to use, and how not to use, AI. 

But it does point to the need to wind back the amount of screen time in schools – a digital detox. 

That will also be on the agenda when Education Ministers next meet.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“This shows why the reforms we are rolling out are so important.

“The UK results are impressive. It’s also hard earned. It’s something almost 20 years in the making.

“In Australian schools that have been doing this for a while we can see the same thing that has happened in the UK. But we have to keep going and roll it out everywhere.

“This year we rolled out a Year 1 phonics check across all Australian public schools for the first time. 

“We are going to do the same thing with maths. A Year 1 numeracy check. To identify kids who are behind when they are little and make sure they get additional help. 

“Reform is hard and it takes time to shift the needle, but it’s not impossible. That’s what the UK results show and what the agreements we have signed with every state and territory are all about. 

“It means an extra $20 billion for public schools over the next ten years tied to reforms like this. 

“These results and PISA over the past show us students who use screens a lot score lower than those who don’t.

“This doesn’t mean there is no place for tech in schools. Students need to learn digital skills. That includes how to use, and how not to use AI. 

“But it does point to the need to wind back the amount of screen time in schools. A bit of a digital detox.”