U.S. PISA Reading Scores Over Time: 2000–2025
Mean reading literacy scores for 15-year-old students in the United States across PISA cycles from 2000 through 2025. A U.S. reading score is unavailable for 2006 because OECD did not report the result after a printing problem affected the U.S. test booklets.
U.S. Reading Trend Statistics
U.S. PISA Reading Score Trend, 2000–2025
Published U.S. mean reading literacy scores for 15-year-old students across PISA cycles.
No U.S. reading result is plotted for 2006 because OECD did not report it after a printing problem affected the U.S. reading test booklets. The vertical scale is limited to 450–525 PISA points so cycle-to-cycle movement remains visible.
OECD and NCES PISA historical performance tables and PISA 2025 results.
U.S. PISA Reading Scores by Cycle
| Technical Context | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 504 | — | Major domain | Reading was the major PISA domain and provides the starting point for the comparable reading trend. |
| 2003 | 495 | −9 | Minor domain | NCES reported no measurable U.S. reading change between 2000 and 2003 despite the nine-point rounded difference. |
| 2006 | Not reported | — | Minor domain | OECD did not report the U.S. reading result because incorrect instructions caused by a test-booklet printing problem compromised the reading data. |
| 2009 | 500 | +5 | Major domain | The change shown compares 2009 with the previous published U.S. reading score from 2003 because no U.S. reading score was reported for 2006. |
| 2012 | 498 | −2 | Minor domain | Reading remained part of the PISA trend series. |
| 2015 | 497 | −1 | Minor domain | Reading remained part of the PISA trend series. |
| 2018 | 505 | +8 | Major domain | Reading received the expanded assessment coverage used for a PISA major domain. |
| 2022 | 504 | −1 | Minor domain | U.S. estimates require caution because some PISA sampling standards were not met. |
| 2025 | 490 | −14 | Minor domain | The published U.S. reading mean was 14 points below the 2022 mean. Sampling limitations also require caution. |
The Longer Series Places the 2025 Result in Historical Context
- Published U.S. reading means from 2000 through 2022 ranged from 495 to 505. The 2025 mean of 490 was below that earlier range.
- The 2000 and 2003 scores were 504 and 495. NCES reported that the nine-point numerical difference between those two cycles was not measurable after uncertainty was taken into account.
- No U.S. reading score is available for 2006. The missing value reflects a reporting decision after a printing problem affected instructions in the U.S. reading booklets; it should not be filled, interpolated or treated as a zero.
- Reading was the major PISA domain in 2000, 2009 and 2018. NCES PISA 2025 technical documentation permits reading trend comparisons back to 2000, while mathematics comparisons begin in 2003 and science comparisons begin in 2006.
- Interpretation of the two latest U.S. estimates requires added care. The United States did not meet every PISA sampling standard in either 2022 or 2025, so the reported national estimates carry additional uncertainty.
Data Sources, Measurement and Comparability
Official Data
The U.S. reading series shown here uses published PISA mean scores for 2000, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025. OECD did not publish a U.S. reading score for PISA 2006.
Population and Metric
PISA assesses students who are approximately 15 years old. The values shown are national mean scores on the PISA reading literacy scale. They are population estimates expressed in score points and should not be interpreted as percentages or percentages correct.
Trend Comparability
NCES PISA 2025 technical documentation permits reading comparisons back to PISA 2000, when reading first served as the major domain. Mathematics comparisons extend back to 2003 and science comparisons to 2006. Linking uncertainty must be considered when comparing results across cycles.
PISA 2006 U.S. Reading Result
The U.S. reading result for 2006 was not reported. Incorrect instructions caused by a printing problem in the U.S. test booklets affected the reading sections, and OECD determined that the resulting reading data were too compromised to report. U.S. science and mathematics results from that cycle were retained.
Major and Minor Reading Cycles
Reading was the major PISA domain in 2000, 2009 and 2018. It was a minor domain in 2003, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2022 and 2025. Major-domain cycles provide broader subject coverage, but the linked reading scale supports trend comparisons across the published U.S. results.
Latest-Cycle Reading Proficiency
In PISA 2025, 74% of U.S. students reached Level 2 or higher in reading, while 13% reached Level 5 or higher. These proficiency percentages describe the distribution of performance and are separate from the national mean score.
U.S. Sampling Caution for 2022 and 2025
For PISA 2022, the U.S. school participation rate and student exclusion rate did not meet the applicable OECD sampling targets, although the student response rate met its target. OECD stated that possible bias could not be ruled out and that its direction could not be determined.
For PISA 2025, U.S. student response, school participation and student exclusion measures did not all meet PISA technical standards. OECD reports that available analyses cannot rule out bias or determine its most likely direction. The 2022 and 2025 national estimates should therefore be read with this limitation in mind.