Austria scored 497 in science, 477 in mathematics and 467 in reading in PISA 2025. All three means were above the corresponding OECD averages, but the latest movement differed sharply by subject: science held broadly steady while mathematics and reading fell from their 2022 levels.
Austria’s PISA 2025 scores
Mean scores for 15-year-old students, compared with the OECD average for the same assessment cycle.
2025 performance by domain
The OECD-gap column is calculated from the published mean scores for Austria and the OECD average.
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| Domain | Austria | OECD average | Austria minus OECD | Change from 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 497 | 482 | +15 | +6 |
| Mathematics | 477 | 463 | +14 | -10 |
| Reading | 467 | 461 | +6 | -13 |
| Computational problem solving | 509 | 500 | +9 | — |
Computational problem solving is reported separately from the three established PISA domains and does not have the same historical series shown for reading, mathematics and science.
Austria remained above the OECD average in all three established domains, but the size of that margin differed. The 2025 gap was 15 points in science, 14 in mathematics and 6 in reading. The latest cycle therefore combines above-OECD performance with a much weaker absolute reading and mathematics result than Austria recorded earlier in the series.
Austria’s PISA score trend, 2000–2025
Reading has a comparable scale from 2000, mathematics from 2003 and science from 2006. Austria’s 2009 results are not used in OECD trend comparisons.
Reading and mathematics declined while science stabilized
Austria’s reported mean scores across comparable PISA cycles
The vertical axis begins at 450 to make cycle-to-cycle movement readable. Missing values indicate that a comparable trend observation is not available for that subject and cycle.
Austria PISA scores by assessment cycle
OECD-published trend values, with the 2025 results added to the historical series.
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| PISA cycle | Reading | Mathematics | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 492 | — | — |
| 2003 | 491 | 506 | — |
| 2006 | 490 | 505 | 511 |
| 2009 | Not used for trend comparison | Not used for trend comparison | Not used for trend comparison |
| 2012 | 490 | 506 | 506 |
| 2015 | 485 | 497 | 495 |
| 2018 | 484 | 499 | 490 |
| 2022 | 480 | 487 | 491 |
| 2025 | 467 | 477 | 497 |
Austria participated in PISA 2009, but OECD excludes its 2009 data from trend comparisons because the assessment conditions did not ensure comparability with other Austrian cycles.
- Reading declined from 492 in 2000 to 467 in 2025, a descriptive difference of 25 points.
- Mathematics declined from 506 in 2003 to 477 in 2025, a descriptive difference of 29 points. The same 506 mean was also recorded in 2012.
- Science moved from 511 in 2006 to 497 in 2025, a 14-point descriptive difference, but the latest score was close to Austria’s 2015 level of 495.
The first-to-latest differences above are simple calculations from OECD-published mean scores. They do not replace OECD statistical trend tests. PISA scores are estimates based on samples, so statistical uncertainty matters when judging whether small changes represent measurable movement.
What changed from PISA 2022 to PISA 2025?
Austria’s recent direction was close to the OECD-wide movement in reading and mathematics, but science followed a different pattern.
2022–2025 score change: Austria versus the OECD average
Change in mean PISA score points by domain
OECD reports that Austria’s 6-point science increase from 2022 was not statistically significant. Mathematics and reading were lower in 2025 than in 2022.
Austria’s mathematics change (-10) was almost the same as the OECD-average change (-9), and its reading change (-13) was close to the OECD movement (-14). Science was different: Austria moved by +6 points while the OECD average moved by -3. Because Austria’s science increase was not statistically significant, it is safer to describe the result as stability rather than a confirmed rise.
Proficiency levels in Austria in 2025
Mean scores show the center of a distribution. Proficiency shares show how many students reached specified PISA performance levels.
Students reaching Level 2 and Levels 5–6
Level 2 is the baseline proficiency threshold used here. Levels 5 and 6 represent top-performing students.
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| Domain | Austria at Level 2 or higher | OECD average | Austria at Levels 5–6 | OECD average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 79% | 74% | 9% | 7% |
| Mathematics | 72% | 65% | 8% | 8% |
| Reading | 72% | 69% | 5% | 6% |
Percentages are rounded as reported in the OECD Austria country note.
Austria had a larger Level-2-or-higher share than the OECD average in each subject. The top end was less uniform: Austria exceeded the OECD share of Levels 5–6 students in science, matched it in mathematics and was slightly below it in reading. An above-OECD mean therefore does not imply a larger top-performing share in every domain.
OECD reports that the share of Austrian students below Level 2 rose by about six percentage points between 2015 and 2025 in both mathematics and reading. The corresponding science share did not show a statistically significant change over that period.
Performance gaps within Austria
PISA 2025 also shows substantial differences between student groups, even when the national mean remains above the OECD average.
Selected 2025 performance gaps
Score-point differences reported by OECD for Austria.
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| Comparison | Austria | OECD context |
|---|---|---|
| Science: advantaged minus disadvantaged students | 98 points | 85-point OECD average gap |
| Science: boys minus girls | +3 points | Difference was not statistically significant |
| Mathematics: boys minus girls | +23 points | +13 points OECD average |
| Reading: boys minus girls | -26 points | -30 points OECD average |
A negative boys-minus-girls reading difference means girls scored higher on average.
Austria’s socio-economically advantaged students, defined as the top quarter of the national PISA index of economic, social and cultural status, scored 98 points higher in science than students in the bottom quarter. OECD reports that this gap remained broadly stable between 2015 and 2025. Socio-economic status accounted for 14% of the variation in science performance in Austria, compared with 12% across OECD countries on average.
Participation, coverage and comparability
A dispute involving Austrian teachers’ unions and the education minister led to an announced PISA boycott that was withdrawn after testing had begun. OECD removed identifiable affected cases, and the resulting dataset met the technical standards, but the assessment conditions could have influenced student motivation. OECD therefore does not use Austria’s 2009 results in trend comparisons.
The original Austrian PISA 2000 sample under-covered students enrolled in combined school and work-based vocational programs. OECD later developed adjusted weights so the 2000 estimates could be compared more reliably with later Austrian results. The reading value used in the trend table follows the OECD’s adjusted historical series.
Austria’s PISA 2025 data met the OECD quality standards and were considered fit for reporting. Science was the major assessment domain in 2025, while reading and mathematics were minor domains. Mean scores are population estimates rather than individual grades, and small differences should not be treated as exact ordinal rankings without considering sampling uncertainty.
Data Sources and Measurement
Primary source for Austria’s 2025 performance, proficiency levels, socio-economic gaps, participation details and data-quality notes. OECD Austria country note
Source for international PISA 2025 mean scores, OECD averages, 2022–2025 changes and cross-country performance tables. PISA 2025 Results, Volume I
Historical Austrian reading, mathematics and science means through PISA 2022, including the missing 2009 trend observation. OECD performance trends
OECD documentation explains the adjustment to Austria’s PISA 2000 estimates and why Austria’s PISA 2009 data are excluded from trend comparisons. OECD PISA FAQs
OECD lists Austria as a participant in the 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025 cycles. OECD PISA participant: Austria
The OECD dashboard provides an interactive view of country-level PISA performance across assessment cycles. OECD PISA performance trends dashboard