Israel's PISA Scores Collapse: Minister Blames War, Data Tells Another Story
Education Minister Yoav Kisch blamed the war for Israel's historic drop in 2025 PISA scores, but data shows Ukraine's decline was five times smaller.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch has attributed Israel's dramatic decline in the 2025 PISA international student assessment to the ongoing war. However, a comparative analysis by the Berl Katznelson Foundation reveals that war-torn Ukraine experienced a drop of only 6 points on average, compared to Israel's steep decline of 29 points.
Record Lows in PISA 2025
The results of the PISA 2025 exams for 10th-grade students, published this week, show a complete collapse in Israel's educational performance. Across the three core subjects—mathematics, reading, and science—Israel's scores are the lowest ever recorded. The Israeli score is significantly below the OECD average, placing the country in the bottom quintile of developed nations. Furthermore, in the digital learning assessment, Israel ranked 54th out of 85 participating countries, falling 54 points below the OECD average.
Minister Kisch defended the results, stating that after nearly a year and a half of war, community evacuations, and severe disruptions, the scores reflect an extraordinary resilience of the Israeli educational system. The Ministry of Education echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the PISA results primarily serve as a snapshot of learning during wartime.
Comparative Analysis with Ukraine
Researchers Rami Hod and Aviad Hhominer-Rosenbaum from the Berl Katznelson Foundation noted that while Ukraine faces a devastating conflict affecting large parts of its territory with high casualties, its drop in PISA scores was only a fifth of Israel's—6 points compared to 29. In science, Israel dropped by 23 points while Ukraine fell by just one. In reading, Israel plummeted by 38 points compared to Ukraine's 9-point decline.
"The government is trying to pin the failure on the war, but it is merely an excuse. PISA data is a severe indictment against a government that has abandoned public education while showering budgets on sectarian systems that do not teach core curricula," said Rami Hod.
Analysis of Ministerial Schedule
An analysis of Minister Kisch’s official schedule, conducted as part of the "Minister Meter" project by the Shakuf website, revealed that between 2023 and 2025, Kisch dedicated only three meetings directly to PISA out of approximately 4,555 recorded sessions. In contrast, he held dozens of meetings concerning ultra-Orthodox education and institutions in settlements across the West Bank.
The Ministry of Education dismissed the schedule analysis as cheap populism intended to create a distorted picture, noting that the minister has held numerous professional discussions and field visits aimed at improving student achievement, including the launch of the "Realistic Israel" STEM promotion program.
