U.S. PISA Reading Scores 2025
U.S. 15-year-old students recorded a mean reading score of 490 points in PISA 2025, compared with 461 points across OECD countries.
U.S. and OECD Reading Scores in PISA 2025
Mean reading performance among 15-year-old students
Scores are reported on the PISA reading scale. OECD inference identifies the U.S. reading result as higher than the OECD average.
PISA 2025 Reading Score Data
| OECD Comparison | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| United States* | 490 | +29 | Higher than OECD average under OECD statistical testing |
| OECD average | 461 | 0 | Reference average |
The U.S. Reading Result Combined a Higher OECD Comparison With a Cycle Decline
- The 2025 U.S. reading mean remained above the OECD average even though U.S. performance declined from the previous PISA cycle. The international comparison and the change over time therefore describe different parts of the result.
- The 14-point decline from 2022 matches the size of the OECD-wide reading change reported for the same period. The U.S. result should not be read as evidence that the broader decline in reading was confined to the United States.
- The U.S. estimate carries an OECD caution marker because several sampling standards were not met in 2025. The direction of any resulting bias cannot be determined from the available evidence.
U.S. Reading Score Change From 2022 to 2025
| Cycle Context | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 504 | Previous PISA cycle |
| 2025 | 490 | 14 points below the 2022 mean |
Reading Proficiency in PISA 2025
| Level 2 or higher | 74% | 69% |
| Level 5 or higher | 13% | 6% |
Level 2 represents the baseline used by OECD for describing students who can identify the main idea in a moderately long text, locate information using explicit criteria and reflect on a text’s purpose or form when directed. Levels 5 and 6 identify readers able to work with lengthy texts, abstract or counterintuitive concepts, and distinctions between fact and opinion based on less explicit cues.
Data Sources, Measurement and Comparability
Official PISA 2025 Results
The mean-score, cycle-change and proficiency figures come from OECD’s PISA 2025 reporting for the United States and the OECD PISA student-performance tables.
OECD PISA 2025 Results: United States
Population and Scale
PISA assesses 15-year-old students rather than a specific U.S. grade. Reading performance is reported in PISA score points and should be compared within the PISA reading scale rather than directly with mathematics, science or other assessment scales.
Comparison Rule
Numeric score differences do not by themselves establish that two estimates are statistically distinguishable. OECD’s published comparison indicates that the 2025 U.S. reading mean was higher than the OECD average after sampling uncertainty was taken into account.
U.S. 2025 Sampling Caution
OECD marks the United States with an asterisk in PISA 2025 because one or more sampling standards were not met. The U.S. overall exclusion rate was 6.9%, the school response rate was 45% before replacement and 54% after replacement, and the student response rate was 76%. OECD reports that non-participation and non-response could affect performance estimates and that the direction of any bias cannot be established.