Germany’s long-run PISA series has two distinct phases: improvement through the early 2010s, followed by a sustained decline. PISA 2025 extends that second phase. Germany recorded 486 points in science, 465 in reading and 464 in mathematics, the lowest results yet observed for the country in each comparable subject series.
Germany’s 2025 scores are close to the OECD average, but at new national lows
The latest mean scores remain near the OECD benchmark even after another decline in reading and mathematics.
PISA 2025: Germany, OECD average and change from 2022
Mean PISA score points. OECD comparisons use the corresponding 2025 domain average.
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Domain | Germany 2025 | OECD average | Gap vs OECD | Change from 2022 | Long-run position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 486 | 482 | +4 | −7 | Lowest observed score; 2022–2025 change was not statistically significant |
| Reading | 465 | 461 | +4 | −15 | Lowest observed score |
| Mathematics | 464 | 463 | +1 | −11 | Lowest observed score |
The +4, +4 and +1 gaps are descriptive differences between rounded Germany and OECD mean scores. Small mean-score gaps should not be treated as exact rank differences.
The latest cycle has two messages at once. Germany is still close to the OECD average in all three core domains, yet its own historical position has weakened. Reading recorded the largest 2022–2025 drop at 15 points, mathematics fell by 11, while the 7-point science movement was not statistically significant.
Germany’s full PISA score history, 2000–2025
The comparable trend begins in 2000 for reading, 2003 for mathematics and 2006 for science.
Mean scores by PISA cycle
All available comparable core-domain observations for Germany.
| PISA cycle | Reading | Mathematics | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 484 | — | — |
| 2003 | 491 | 503 | — |
| 2006 | 495 | 504 | 516 |
| 2009 | 497 | 513 | 520 |
| 2012 | 508 | 514 | 524 |
| 2015 | 509 | 506 | 509 |
| 2018 | 498 | 500 | 503 |
| 2022 | 480 | 475 | 492 |
| 2025 | 465 | 464 | 486 |
An em dash marks cycles before the standard long-term comparison base for that subject; it does not mean Germany was absent from PISA.
The rise, peak and reversal in Germany’s PISA scores
Reading, mathematics and science mean scores across their comparable trend periods.
The y-axis is limited to 440–540 points to make within-domain movement readable. Cycle positions are categorical; the 2018–2022 interval spans four years because the PISA cycle scheduled for 2021 was postponed to 2022.
- Reading rose from 484 in 2000 to a high of 509 in 2015, then fell to 465 in 2025.
- Mathematics reached 514 in 2012 before declining to 464, while science reached 524 in 2012 before falling to 486.
- The steep 2018–2022 decline did not begin the reversal. The turning point appears earlier, around 2012 or 2015 depending on the domain.
The 2025 gap from Germany’s historical peak is largest in mathematics
Peak-to-2025 changes are calculated from the rounded OECD-published means in the historical series.
Score-point distance from each subject’s historical peak
2025 mean score minus the highest observed comparable score for Germany.
Historical peaks were 514 in mathematics in 2012, 509 in reading in 2015 and 524 in science in 2012. These differences are derived from rounded published means, not separate OECD indicators.
Mathematics has moved furthest from its earlier high: 50 score points below the 2012 peak. Reading is 44 points below its 2015 high, and science is 38 points below its 2012 high. The scale of these peak-to-latest changes shows why the 2025 result is better understood as the continuation of a longer reversal rather than only a three-year movement from PISA 2022.
Low-performer shares have grown sharply since 2015
Mean scores show the center of the distribution; proficiency shares show how many students sit below the baseline and how many reach the highest levels.
Germany’s PISA 2025 proficiency profile
Rounded shares reported by OECD for the three core domains.
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| Domain | Germany at Level 2+ | OECD at Level 2+ | Germany at Levels 5–6 | OECD at Levels 5–6 | Increase in Germany below Level 2, 2015–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 73% | 74% | 9% | 7% | +10 percentage points |
| Mathematics | 66% | 65% | 8% | 8% | +17 percentage points |
| Reading | 68% | 69% | 7% | 6% | +15 percentage points |
Level 2 is the OECD baseline used here for the three core domains. Levels 5–6 identify top performers and are included within the Level 2+ share.
The deterioration is not captured by the mean alone. Germany still had a top-performer share equal to or above the OECD average in all three subjects, while the share below Level 2 had risen markedly from 2015. The largest increase in low performers was in mathematics, at 17 percentage points.
Socio-economic differences widened in science over the same decade
PISA 2025 was science-focused, allowing a closer view of how performance was distributed by socio-economic background.
Within Germany, students in the top quarter of the national socio-economic distribution outscored those in the bottom quarter by 125 points in science. OECD reports that this gap widened between 2015 and 2025. Over that period, science performance declined among disadvantaged students while remaining stable among advantaged students.
The long-run decline has not been evenly distributed
The national mean moved downward, but the socio-economic comparison shows a different movement underneath it: the disadvantaged group lost ground while the advantaged group remained comparatively stable. That makes the widening gap part of the performance-trend story, not a separate statistic.
Why the three historical series start in different years
Germany has participated in PISA since 2000, but the standard long-term comparison base differs by subject: reading starts in 2000, mathematics in 2003 and science in 2006. Those are the cycles in which each subject first served as PISA’s major assessment domain and established the corresponding trend scale used for long-run comparisons.
PISA is not an annual test. The main sequence for Germany is 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025. The cycle planned for 2021 was postponed to 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why the 2018–2022 interval is four years rather than the usual three. No scores are interpolated for the longer gap.
Mean scores are system-level estimates, not percentages or pass marks. Reading, mathematics and science also use separate PISA scales, so the three means should not be added together to create an unofficial combined score.
What the 25-year record shows
Germany’s first PISA years were followed by measurable improvement. Reading gained 25 points from 2000 to its 2015 high; mathematics rose 11 points from 2003 to 2012; science rose 8 points from 2006 to 2012. The direction then reversed. By 2025, all three subjects were below their starting points in the standard comparable series: reading by 19 points, mathematics by 39 and science by 30.
The 2025 results therefore combine three features: scores close to the current OECD average, the lowest German means yet recorded in each core-domain trend, and a larger low-performing share than Germany had a decade earlier. The socio-economic science gap adds another layer, showing that the decline was more pronounced among disadvantaged students over 2015–2025.
Data sources and measurement
The latest scores, 2022–2025 changes, proficiency shares, socio-economic results and German sample information come from the OECD PISA 2025 Germany country note and the underlying PISA 2025 tables.
Scores through PISA 2022 are based on OECD’s published Germany trend tables, including the PISA 2022 Germany country note. PISA 2025 values extend those subject-specific series using the latest OECD results.
In Germany, 6,659 students in 246 schools completed PISA 2025, representing about 717,900 15-year-olds and an estimated 93% of the country’s 15-year-old population. OECD reports that Germany’s PISA 2025 data met its quality standards and were fit for reporting.
OECD publishes downloadable files, technical documentation and cycle databases through its PISA data and methodology portal. The main international 2025 publication is PISA 2025 Results, Volume I.
Scores shown in the historical tables are rounded mean estimates. Derived differences on this page, such as peak-to-2025 changes and gaps from the OECD average, are calculated from those published rounded values. Statistical interpretation follows OECD reporting where an official comparison is available.