PISA 2025 results place Israeli students at an unprecedented low in science, math, and reading. In science, 40% of 15-year-olds do not even reach the basic proficiency level, and only 4% excel. Behind the scores lies a long-term threat to Israel’s pool of scientists, engineers, and technologists. The first article in a series on the Israeli education crisis – and the toll it could take on science, the economy, and society.
This is no longer just a warning sign. Test results PISA 2025 published today (September 8, 2026) by the organization OECD shows that the achievements of Israeli students inScience, BMathematics And in reading, they are the lowest measured in Israel since it began participating in the tests.
In science – the area that was the focus of the PISA tests this time – only 60% of Israeli 15-year-old students reached at least level 2, defined as the basic proficiency level. The OECD average is 74%. In other words, Four out of ten students in Israel do not reach the basic level in science.
At the other end of the scale, the picture is less encouraging: only 4% of Israeli students reached levels 5 or 6 in science – the high levels at which students are able to independently and creatively apply scientific knowledge even in unfamiliar situations. The OECD average is 7%.
These are not just scores from 15-year-old students. The children tested in 2025 will be the students, researchers, engineers, doctors, and high-tech professionals that Israel will need in about a decade. Therefore, the question raised by the new data is much broader than a ranking on an international test: Where will the next generation of science and technology professionals in Israel come from?
The depression is not limited to the sciences
According to the OECD, Israel’s average scores in 2025 will have declined compared to 2022 in all three areas – science, mathematics and reading. In all three, these are the lowest results ever recorded for Israel in PISA, and they are also significantly lower than the results in 2018, 2015 and 2012.
The decline is particularly noticeable when looking over a decade. Compared to 2015, the proportion of students not reaching Level 2 increased by 14 percentage points in math, 14 percentage points in reading, and nine percentage points in science.
In mathematics, only 54% of students in Israel reached at least the basic level, compared to 65% in the OECD average. Only 5% of Israelis were excellent, compared to 8% in the OECD. In reading, 59% reached the basic level, compared to 69% in OECD countries.
It is also important to emphasize that the crisis is not just Israeli. The OECD averages themselves have deteriorated, and in 2025 the organization’s countries recorded the lowest average results ever measured in the three areas. But even within the weakened international system, Israeli students are below the OECD average in science, math, and reading.
What does "below baseline" mean?
PISA is not a test that primarily tests whether a student remembers a formula or definition. It is designed to test how well 15-year-olds are able to use the knowledge they have acquired to deal with real-world problems and situations.
In science, a student at Level 2 is able, among other things, to identify a correct explanation for a familiar scientific phenomenon and use basic knowledge to determine in simple cases whether a conclusion is supported by the data.
With about 40% of students in Israel not even reaching this level, it is more than just a low test score. It is a large part of a younger generation that has difficulty using basic scientific knowledge to interpret evidence and draw conclusions.
And in a world where artificial intelligence, biotechnology, chips, energy, climate, and medicine are becoming more complex – scientific literacy is not just necessary for those who intend to be physicists or engineers. It is becoming a condition for informed participation in modern society.
The base from which STEM professionals will emerge is shrinking
Here, PISA data connects to a broader problem that researchers, academics, and industry have long been warning about: the shortage of human resources in the fields of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Israel is extraordinarily dependent on its human capital. It is not enough for a small group of outstanding students to continue to attend the Technion and universities. To sustain a research system, a high-tech industry, a healthcare system, and defense and technology industries for decades, a broad base of students with mathematical and scientific knowledge is required.
As early as 2024, a study by Dr. Yael Meltzer and Prof. Eyal Kimchi of the Shoresh Institute indicated that the rate of advanced degrees in science and engineering in Israel is low compared to many developed countries and is on a downward trend. The researchers linked the bottleneck in supplying skilled manpower for high-tech to the quality of the education system and the low achievements of Israeli students in international tests.
The new PISA data reinforce this warning: if fewer students acquire the necessary scientific and mathematical foundations at age 15, the pool from which it will be possible to choose future science and engineering students becomes more problematic.
The state has already declared this a "national emergency"
This is not a problem that the state is unaware of. Last June, the Knesset Science and Technology Committee presented the "Realistic Israel" plan, a multi-year plan worth approximately 1.5 billion shekels to strengthen scientific and technological education.
Dr. Ariel Heyman, chairman of the Education Committee of the National Council for Research and Development, defined the situation in the discussion as a "national emergency in science education." Following the committee's recommendations, a National Council for STEM Education was established, andMinistry of Education Established a dedicated STEM department.
The plan sets, among other things, a goal to return Israel to the top ten in international tests within five years and to expand the circle of students in the fields of science and technology.
There is also positive data. In 2025, more than 15 students studied in the "Tech Matriculation" track, which combines five units in English, five in math, and five in computers or physics. But even here, the picture is complex: they were only 11.6% of all students in the grade.
The question follows PISA 2025 It is therefore not whether Israel has recognized the crisis, but whether the steps being taken are sufficient and fast enough to reverse a trend that has been going on for years.
Without science teachers, there is no pool of scientists.
One of the weak points is in front of the blackboard in the classroom.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics presented to the Knesset in June, over the past decade the number of science teachers in middle schools has increased by about 13%, but the number of science teaching hours has increased by only about 3%. At the same time, the rate of departure of science teachers, especially in middle schools, has increased at a higher rate than the rate of entry of new teachers.
Particularly worrying is the figure that the rate of correspondence between teacher training and actual science teaching is only about 50%.
PISA students themselves also point to problems in the classroom. Only 60% of students in Israel said that in most science classes the teacher shows an interest in each student’s learning, compared to 69% in the OECD average. About 30% said they were unable to work well in most or all classes, compared to 19% in the OECD.
These are not necessarily the direct causes of the scores, but they illustrate that behind the international table lies an entire system – teacher training, teaching hours, working conditions, discipline, and infrastructure.
82 points separate students in Israel
The problem is not evenly distributed.
When the OECD divided Israeli students into four groups according to their socioeconomic status, students in the top quartile outperformed students in the bottom quartile by 82 points in science. The gap is similar to the OECD average, but there is an important detail: between 2015 and 2025, the gap in Israel did not narrow, while it did on the OECD average.
This figure connects to new research on the way the Israeli education system is funded.
A peer-reviewed study by Dr. Ruth Moodad and Prof. Iris Ben-David Hadar of Bar-Ilan University examined local funding for education in 250 municipalities in Israel from 2014 to 2020. The researchers found that socio-economically strong municipalities and municipalities inhabited by the majority population invested approximately twice as much money in education as weak municipalities and municipalities of minority groups – and the gaps widened over the period examined.
In other words, the state can try to reduce gaps through differential budgeting, but then the capacity of the local authority comes into play. A strong authority can fund special majors, excellent programs, an innovative learning environment, and enrichment; a weak authority is sometimes forced to direct its scarce resources to basic needs.
We will dedicate a separate article in the series to this topic.
And what happens to children who do not study full core studies?
There is another elephant in the room: some Israeli students do not receive the full mathematics, science, and English education required to integrate into STEM tracks in the future.
This discussion cannot be reduced to the question of PISA scores. A country that wants to increase its pool of scientists, engineers, and technologists cannot afford to forego a growing portion of the younger generation as a potential source of scientific and technological human capital.
We will also devote a separate chapter to this: not as a political or cultural debate, but as a question of demographic mathematics. How many of the next generation receive the tools that will allow them, if they so desire, to study physics, computer science, engineering, or medicine – and how many are denied this option while they are still children?
PISA is a warning light, not the whole story
It's easy to treat the publication of PISA results as a ritual that happens every few years: a table is published, a brief public debate is held, the Ministry of Education announces a plan, and the news moves on to the next topic.
But the results of 2025 should be viewed differently.
The children who received these grades are the Israel of the 30s and 40s. They will be the workforce, the researchers, the teachers, the doctors, the engineers, the entrepreneurs, and also the citizens who will have to make decisions in a world saturated with science and technology.
The question is therefore not only why Israel received a low score in PISA. The question is What kind of country could Israel become if these trends continue?.
This is the first article in the "Newspaper" series on the crisis.Education in IsraelIn the following chapters, we will examine the factors behind the numbers: why where a child lives affects the education they receive; what is happening to science teaching and the status of teachers; how the lack of core studies is affecting the country's workforce; what happens on the path from school to university and STEM subjects; and how all of this connects to a broader crisis of scientific workforce shortages and brain drain.
The numbers released today are a starting point. The real story is what Israel does with them.
Questions and Answers
What do the PISA 2025 tests show about Israel?
Israel's achievements in science, mathematics, and reading are the lowest measured for Israel in the PISA tests. In all three areas, Israeli students are below the OECD average.
How many Israeli students do not reach a basic level in science?
About 40% of Israeli 15-year-old students are below level 2 in science. Only 60% have reached the basic level or above, compared to 74% on the OECD average.
Why are PISA data related to the future of high-tech and science in Israel?
Science and engineering subjects require a mathematical and scientific foundation built over years. A decline in the proportion of students with these skills could reduce the pool of candidates for science, engineering, computer science, and medicine in the future.
Is the government already working on this issue?
Yes. The “Real Israel” program, worth about NIS 1.5 billion, is designed to strengthen STEM studies, improve teacher training, and return Israel to the top ten in international tests within five years. The key question is whether implementation will be broad and rapid enough to change the trend.
More on this subject on the Hayadan Science News site
High-tech and science studies from kindergarten to high school
Does the "Scientific and Technological Reserve" program contribute to roadblocks and inequality?
The Department of Science and Technology Education at the Technion became a faculty
The Missing Piece – On Science Teaching in Israel
For the scientific article: Opening the scientific article
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Thanks for the correction. The order is about the Meitzav tests, which is an internal Israeli test. A separate article about that when the data is published. The updated data was published tonight on purpose so that Kish, who has a record of failure, will absorb all the criticism at once and forget about it until the elections.
I didn't understand. "PISA 2025 test results published today (September 8, 2026) by the OECD" by court order?