Estonia has participated in PISA since 2006. In the latest cycle, PISA 2025, Estonian 15-year-olds averaged 527 points in science, 508 in mathematics, and 499 in reading. All three means remained above the corresponding OECD averages, and Estonia was among the top 10 education systems in each core domain.
Estonia’s PISA 2025 Scores and Global Standing
Latest mean scores, OECD comparison, and the rank indicator reported by OECD Education GPS for available PISA participants.
| Domain | Estonia | OECD average | Gap from OECD average | Education GPS rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 527 | 482 | +45 | 6 of 90 |
| Mathematics | 508 | 463 | +45 | 8 of 89 |
| Reading | 499 | 461 | +38 | 8 of 89 |
Estonia’s 2025 position is broad rather than subject-specific: OECD reporting places it within the top 10 in science, mathematics, and reading. The science mean of 527 is statistically indistinguishable from Korea’s 526 in the OECD comparison table, which is a useful reminder that adjacent rank positions are not always clean performance gaps.
PISA Score History, 2006–2025
Estonia has reported core-domain results in every PISA cycle from its first participation in 2006 through PISA 2025.
| PISA cycle | Mathematics | Reading | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 515 | 501 | 531 |
| 2009 | 512 | 501 | 528 |
| 2012 | 521 | 516 | 541 |
| 2015 | 520 | 519 | 534 |
| 2018 | 523 | 523 | 530 |
| 2022 | 510 | 511 | 526 |
| 2025 | 508 | 499 | 527 |
Estonia’s PISA Scores Across Seven Cycles
Mean score by domain, from Estonia’s first PISA participation in 2006 to 2025.
The vertical scale is limited to 480–550 to keep the seven-cycle movement readable without implying a zero-based score scale. PISA domain means are separate measures and should not be treated as a single combined score.
- Mathematics and reading reached their highest reported Estonia means in 2018, both at 523. By 2025, mathematics was 15 points below that peak and reading was 24 points lower.
- Science peaked earlier, at 541 in 2012. The 2025 science mean of 527 was 14 points below that peak but only one point above the 2022 result.
- From the first cycle to the latest, the net changes are relatively small: -7 points in mathematics, -2 in reading, and -4 in science. Those first-to-latest differences hide the rise through the 2010s and the later pullback.
What Changed Between 2022 and 2025?
The latest cycle did not move all three domains in the same direction or by the same amount.
| Domain | Estonia 2022 | Estonia 2025 | Estonia change | OECD change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 526 | 527 | +1 | -3 |
| Mathematics | 510 | 508 | -2 | -9 |
| Reading | 511 | 499 | -12 | -14 |
The OECD describes Estonia’s 2025 mathematics and science results as about the same as in 2022, while reading was lower. The arithmetic movement supports that distinction: science changed by only +1 point and mathematics by -2, compared with a 12-point reading decline. Over the same interval, the OECD averages moved by -3 in science, -9 in mathematics, and -14 in reading.
How the 2025 Mean Scores Translate Into Proficiency Shares
Mean scores summarize the distribution; proficiency shares show how many students were below the PISA baseline or at the upper end of the scale.
| Domain | At Level 2 or above | Below Level 2 | Level 5 or 6 | OECD comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | about 90% | 9.9% | 11.3% | OECD: 74% at Level 2+, 7.2% at Level 5–6 |
| Mathematics | about 83% | 17.2% | 13.3% | OECD: 65% at Level 2+, 8% at Level 5–6 |
| Reading | about 83% | about 17% | about 9% | OECD: 69% at Level 2+, 6% at Level 5+ |
A country mean does not describe the skill level of every student. Estonia’s mean scores and its proficiency distribution answer different questions, so neither should be used as a substitute for the other.
Reading Estonia’s Global Position Carefully
OECD Education GPS reports rank indicators using the countries and economies with available data for each measure. That produces slightly different denominators across the three 2025 core domains: 90 for science and 89 for mathematics and reading. These indicators are useful for describing Estonia’s broad position, but a one-place difference should not automatically be read as a statistically clear gap.
The OECD’s PISA 2025 report handles uncertainty by comparing mean estimates and identifying systems whose results cannot be distinguished statistically. In science, for example, Estonia’s 527 and Korea’s 526 are placed in the same statistical comparison group. For that reason, the strongest 2025 statement is that Estonia sat within the top-performing group internationally across all three core domains, rather than that every adjacent ordinal position represents a meaningful difference.
Participation and Comparability Notes
- Estonia’s first PISA cycle
- 2006. No Estonia core-domain scores should be inserted for PISA 2000 or PISA 2003.
- PISA 2022 timing
- The assessment normally associated with 2021 was delayed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the official cycle is reported as PISA 2022.
- PISA 2025 major domain
- Science was the major domain. Mathematics and reading were also assessed, allowing the three core-domain means to remain part of Estonia’s score history.
- Rank interpretation
- The rank indicators shown above come from OECD Education GPS and use available participants for each metric. The OECD report’s statistical comparisons should be used when deciding whether neighboring mean scores are clearly different.
- Trend interpretation
- Historical mean scores can show direction and scale of movement, but they do not by themselves identify why results changed. The trend series here therefore remains descriptive.
Data Basis and Measurement
OECD — PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Estonia provides the latest country-level scores, trend interpretation, proficiency shares, and comparison notes.
OECD — Student Performance in PISA 2025 supplies the cross-country science comparison, OECD averages, uncertainty guidance, and chapter tables for mathematics and reading.
OECD Education GPS — Estonia, Student Performance (PISA 2025) reports Estonia’s mean-score rank indicators and detailed 2025 proficiency percentages.
OECD — Overview of Performance Trends, PISA 2022 Results provides Estonia’s comparable mathematics, reading, and science means from 2006 through 2022.
All cycle-to-cycle and first-to-latest differences on this page are calculations from OECD-published mean scores. Values are rounded as reported by OECD. PISA 2025 results were released on September 8, 2026.