Malta’s Educational Performance Has Continued to Decline Since 2015

Malta performed poorly in PISA 2025, with scores falling substantially across all three core subjects and remaining below the OECD averages. The results were released on 8 September 2026.

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Malta performed poorly in PISA 2025, with scores falling substantially across all three core subjects and remaining below the OECD averages:

Science: Malta scored 453, compared with the OECD average of 482—a fall of 13 points since 2022.
Mathematics: Malta scored 439, compared with the OECD average of 463—a fall of 27 points.
Reading: Malta scored 415, compared with the OECD average of 461—a fall of 31 points.
Computational problem-solving: Malta scored 463, compared with the OECD average of 500. This was assessed for the first time.

Reading presents the greatest cause for concern: Malta’s score fell by 31 points since 2022. Only 52% of Maltese students reached the basic Level 2 standard, compared with 69% across the OECD. Merely 2% were classified as high performers.

Other findings include:

In science, 63% achieved the basic standard, compared with 74% across the OECD.
In mathematics, 56% achieved the basic standard, compared with 65% across the OECD.
The proportion of low-performing students has increased considerably since 2015: by 15 percentage points in mathematics, 12 in reading and 4 in science.
Forty-five per cent reported skipping at least one full school day during the preceding fortnight—more than double the OECD average of 22%.
Forty-three per cent reported noise and disorder during most or every science lesson, compared with 31% across the OECD.
Twenty-three per cent reported experiencing recurring bullying, compared with an OECD average of 20%.
Fifty-six per cent used AI chatbots for learning at least once a week, compared with 46% across the OECD.

On the positive side, Maltese students reported relatively strong teacher support, while socio-economic background accounted for less of the variation in performance than it did across the OECD generally.

Overall, the results reveal a serious deterioration, particularly in reading and mathematics. Malta has fallen further below the OECD average, with nearly half of its 15-year-olds now failing to demonstrate basic reading proficiency.

Sources: OECD’s Malta country note⁠ and PISA 2025 Results, Volume I⁠.