Only 14% of Israelis View Education System as Good, Poll Shows
A new poll reveals that only 14% of Israelis view the education system as good, with dissatisfaction concentrated heavily among secular citizens amid historic PISA score drops.
Only 14% of Israelis currently describe the education system as "good"—a figure that conceals a far more complex picture. A new poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute reveals that the erosion of satisfaction has continued for the third consecutive year, though it is not evenly distributed. It is concentrated almost entirely among the secular public, the very demographic whose students suffered the sharpest drop in international PISA scores published this month.
The deeper the data is analyzed, the more it paints an education system that has long split into streams that rarely intersect—not in achievements, not in satisfaction, and not even in what should actually be taught.
The percentage of those defining the education system as "not good" rose from 32% in 2024 to 35% this year, while 17% claimed the question was not relevant to them. Within specific sectors, 37% of the Jewish public stated the education system is "not good," compared to 26% of the Arab public.
Historical Lows in PISA Scores
Earlier this month, international PISA test scores were published, revealing a historical low with poor scores in reading, mathematics, and science. These are the lowest scores for Israeli students since they began participating in the international study 20 years ago.
Reading recorded the most severe drop—a plunge of 38 points, marking Israel's lowest score over the years. Mathematics saw a decline of 25 points, and science dropped by 23 points.
However, at the core of these data, attention must be paid to the different streams within the education system that operate almost independently of one another: the state-Hebrew (secular) stream, the state-religious (Haredi/religious Zionist sectors), and the Arab stream.
In science, the state-Hebrew stream suffered the highest score decline (-28), followed by Arabic speakers (-17) and the religious state stream (-16), while ultra-Orthodox girls dropped the least (-10). In reading, secular students dropped by over 50 points (-52), religious students dropped by 30 points, and Arabic speakers by 21 points. Ultra-Orthodox girls dropped by 19 points. In mathematics, state-Hebrew students dropped by 29 points, Arabic speakers by 22 points, and religious students alongside ultra-Orthodox girls by 19 points.
According to the Jewish People Policy Institute poll, when public opinion is broken down, the deterioration is concentrated almost entirely in the secular public's evaluation of the education system.
This is also the public whose students' achievements were hit the hardest: the proportion of secular individuals defining the education system as "not good" rose over the past year from 34% to 46%. A noticeable increase in negative evaluation also occurred among traditional Israelis. Among religious Israelis, there was no change at all, while among the ultra-Orthodox, the proportion of those satisfied actually rose: 22% define the system as "good" compared to 10% last September.
Diverging Priorities on Curriculum
When asked what subjects Israelis believe should be added or removed from the timetable, answers remain remarkably stable compared to last year. Among the Jewish public, the subject most respondents wished to strengthen was "Jewish studies" (29%, compared to 27% last year), followed by civics (21%).
However, that same subject—"Jewish studies"—is also the second most requested for cuts (20%, compared to 24% last year), right after literature, which a quarter (26%) of Jews would cut hours from. In the Arab sector, priorities are entirely different: English is the most sought-after subject for reinforcement (31%, up from 25% last year), followed by mathematics (20%).
The gap between secular and religious Israelis is almost dichotomous. 36% of secular respondents would reinforce civics and only 8% Jewish studies; 44% of religious respondents and 71% of ultra-Orthodox respondents would reinforce Jewish studies, and only 6% and 7% respectively would reinforce civics. Conversely, 41% of secular respondents would cut Jewish studies, compared to 0% of religious respondents and 4% of ultra-Orthodox respondents, whereas religious and ultra-Orthodox groups direct their cuts toward literature (33% and 36%) and civics (9% and 18%).
"The findings of the Israeli Society Index point to the third consecutive year of erosion in public evaluation of the education system. Within just two years, the share of Israelis defining the education system as good dropped from 18% to 14%, while those defining it as not good rose from 32% to 35%," said Dr. Shuki Friedman, CEO of the Jewish People Policy Institute.
"Not only is the public less satisfied with the system, but it is also deeply divided over what the education system should provide to its children. The gaps between secular, religious, and ultra-Orthodox groups—such as regarding the place of Jewish and civics studies—illustrate how the education system has become an arena where disputes over the character of Israeli society are shaped," Friedman added.
