Macedonian Students Score Below OECD Average in PISA 2025
Only 1 percent of students reached the top performance tier, as results declined across all three tested areas.
Macedonian students again scored below the OECD member average in the international PISA 2025 assessment, with declines across all three main areas compared to the previous 2022 cycle.
Students averaged 379 points in math, 354 in reading comprehension and 377 in science — results that, according to ministry documents, covered around 7,500 students from 125 schools, a representative sample of the country's 15-year-old population.
Only One Percent Among Top Performers
Particularly concerning is the finding that only one percent of Macedonian students qualified among top performers, while the OECD average for advanced students exceeds eight percent. In regional comparison, Macedonia trails Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro across all three areas, while ranking ahead of Kosovo in most categories.
Experts note the problem isn't new — despite a series of reforms, strategies and recommendations from international organizations in recent years, results again show no substantial turnaround, raising the question of whether education policies need concrete, measurable targets.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · September 9, 2026