Welsh school standards drop by equivalent of whole year in PISA education report

Welsh school standards have fallen by the equivalent of an entire academic year, with the nation lagging behind the rest of the UK, according to a new report.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows Wales is the poorest performing UK nation for reading, maths and science.

Pupils have fallen behind by more than a year in maths with many struggling with reading and science. The drop is being blamed on the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Wales continues to lag behind the other Home Nations, with England coming out on top. Credit: PA

It means Wales' academic performance in core subjects has decreased to its lowest level on record.

Responding to the results, Education Minister Jeremy Miles said: “Before the pandemic, we saw a strong improvement in literacy and numeracy standards in Wales. Sadly, it is clear that the pandemic has derailed some of this improvement.

“We have already started on a path of driving up standards in reading and maths and we won’t let these results knock us off track."

Mr Miles recently described getting pupils back in the classroom after the pandemic as a "national priority."

The number of children in Wales persistently missing school has trebled since 2020. It means roughly 1 in 6 pupils have at least a day off school each week.

Wales was not alone in seeing a decline, with all but 10 of the 73 countries which took part seeing a fall in at least one area.

The Welsh Government has said it is driving a "system-wide response" to provide "greater support for teachers and pupils".

It has also published a national report on pupil performance in English and maths for the first time. It will be released annually "to track recovery [from the pandemic]," according to the education minister.

He added: “We supported our schools and learners through the pandemic, we will stand together and support them now.” 

The Covid pandemic has been blamed for the drop in results. Credit: PA Images

Welsh results dropped in all three measures used by the report - reading, maths and science - when compared with the last report, published in 2019.

As a whole, the UK dropped by 15 points. That is equivalent to about three-quarters of a school year, with a 10-point fall roughly equivalent to half a year's worth of learning and 20 a full year.

The PISA results are released every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), measuring the performance of 15-year-olds in maths, reading and science across the globe.

Of the UK nations, Wales has come bottom in terms of maths results in the last three reports.

Wales' numeracy score has dropped further, with the gap to other home nations widening.

As a whole, the UK was relatively strong in terms of socio-economically disadvantaged pupils performing well in maths.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said "improvement to education takes time" after a new curriculum was introduced last year in Wales. Credit: ITV Wales/S4C

A new, reformed curriculum has been taught in Wales since last year, marking the biggest change in the way Welsh children are taught for more than thirty years.

It will be rolled out to all pupils by the 2026-2027 academic year.

The three key focuses of the new curriculum are literacy, numeracy and digital competence - matching some of the focuses of the PISA report.

Mr Miles said: “Our long-term education reforms have now started after years of planning and, as the OECD have said, improvement to education takes time.

“We have taken a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revolutionise the quality of education in Wales and I’m confident we will deliver huge benefits for our young people.”

The Welsh Government said the latest OECD report does not assess the new curriculum, and nor will the next report, covering 2025.

89 Welsh schools were assessed for the report, with 2568 pupils tested.

However, because of the relatively small sample size both in Wales and the UK more widely, it did not reach the PISA technical standards. Assessors have said the data is quite accurate, due to their processes.

The Welsh Conservatives accused the Welsh Government of having "little regard" for children. Credit: PA

The Welsh Conservatives accused the Labour-led administration in the Senedd of having "so little regard for our children’s future that they actually cut the education budget this year."

Shadow Education Minister Laura Anne Jones added: “After 25 years of Labour running Welsh schools we have a widening attainment gap, funding being spent on the pet project of more politicians and sadly once again Wales languishing at the bottom of international league tables.

 “The Labour Education Minister needs to get a grip of his department and give our young people the start in life they deserve.

She added: "He can start by getting 5,000 more teachers back into our classrooms after years of declining numbers and the desperately needed money to support growing ALN [additional learning needs] numbers in mainstream education.”

The number of teachers in Wales has fallen in recent years. Credit: PA Images

The results do not come as a surprise to teachers according to Emma Forrest from the National Education Union. She said: "They [the results] don’t really tell us anything which the education workforce doesn’t know – that across most OECD countries schools need support in the context of a post-pandemic situation".

She continued: “Here in Wales, we have the new Curriculum for Wales, which none of the cohort tested in PISA have been taking.

"If the Welsh Government wants to take anything from these results, it is an opportunity to ensure that they have a qualifications system which does not focus on tests and time-limited exams but gives young people a real chance to show what they can do."

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