Created on: 08 Sep 2026
Today’s release of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report has highlighted many positives about Scottish education, while confirming that Scotland’s schools continue to face many challenges associated with societal issues, including the serious detrimental impact of poverty on education.
Areas of strength identified within the Scottish system include pupils in Scotland reporting high levels of curiosity, strong support from teachers and families, generally positive views of the value of school and a positive sense of belonging.
On measured academic performance, Scotland performed significantly above the OECD average in science and reading and in both of the new areas reported in PISA 2025: computational problem solving and environmental science. Mathematics performance was statistically similar to the OECD average.
Commenting on the publication of the PISA report, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The PISA report, although limited in what it can say about the quality of learning within any education system, telling only a fraction of the story, reflects the hard work and professional commitment of teachers, who are working in challenging circumstances. The report highlights key strengths in Scotland’s education system, along with some areas of concern and significant challenges facing our schools.”
“As the report highlights, Scotland’s pupils tend to be positively engaged in their learning, curious, and hold positive views about support from their families and teachers. Academically, young people in Scotland perform well in science and reading, and also in computational problem solving and environmental science. Performance in Maths was similar to the average level across the OECD.”
“It is certainly true, however, that the report also identifies many substantial challenges that continue to face Scottish education. Significantly, the report confirms the continuation of the long-standing link between socio-economic background and academic performance. With nearly one child in four in Scotland living in poverty, the scarcity of GTCS registered teachers in Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings where early intervention is crucial, the persistence of the poverty-related attainment gap continues to be a serious challenge for Scottish education. While this has been a major stated priority for government in recent years, there is a clear need for further action and significant additional investment to overcome this challenge.”
Ms Bradley continued, “As the authors of the report themselves stress, learning outcomes are shaped by factors such as levels of education funding, inequality, social conditions and public policy choices. Interestingly, despite the clamour to promote AI use in education and the hard sell by big tech companies, the report clearly demonstrates that young people who do not use AI in their studies, particularly in reading, out-perform those who do. This underscores the fundamental importance of human-centred education which fosters critical thinking. Further, the report shows that education systems improve through social dialogue between governments and unions, tailored solutions, and investment in education and in education professionals.”
Ms Bradley added, “PISA should be the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one. The real question is whether the Scottish Government which funds public services and the local authorities who are responsible for our schools are willing to make the political and financial choices necessary to realise the right to quality public education for every learner. This means fully funding education for smaller class sizes and sufficient ASN provision, GTCS registered teachers in all ELC settings, and universal free school meals. Mission critical also is valuing education professionals, ensuring strong recruitment and retention through the offer of decent professional pay, conditions and security of employment if young people in Scotland are to receive the education that they deserve and that our society needs them to have.”