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5 min read“The cumulative effect is that 15-year-olds today in maths and reading are scoring at levels that you might have associated with a 14-year-old 10 years ago.” That is the headline finding from the latest round of the OECD’s PISA tests, which measure the abilities of 15-year-olds across the rich world in maths, science, and reading. The decline is not a one-off pandemic blip. Scores have been flattening since around 2012, then falling, and the latest data shows a further sharp drop on top of the COVID-era slide. The episode examines what is driving this long-term erosion of cognitive skills, what can be learned from the countries that are bucking the trend, and why it matters for national prosperity.
The PISA framework and the scale of the decline
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:49) **Introduction: The Decline of Exam Results** - Host Rosie Bloor sets up the episode's central puzzle: exam results across the rich world are in long-term decline, a problem with serious economic and individual implications.
- 2 (03:04) **What the PISA Tests Actually Measure** - The segment explains the nature of the PISA tests, distinguishing them from simple curriculum-based exams.
- 3 (04:02) **The Long-Term Decline: From Flattening to Diving** - The timeline of the decline is established, showing it predates the pandemic.
- 4 (04:40) **Reasons for the Decline Beyond the Pandemic** - The analysis moves past COVID-19 to identify other persistent structural problems in education.
- 5 (05:25) **The Ambiguous Role of Technology and AI** - The segment explores how tech, including AI, is impacting student performance, often negatively.
- 6 (07:19) **Lessons from Top-Performing Countries** - The discussion turns to what can be learned from the success of Asian education systems and a standout European example.
- 7 (10:55) **Miami's Boom: A Tale of Two Influxes** - The episode shifts to a new topic: the economic and cultural transformation of Miami, driven by distinct groups of investors and migrants.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
International tests in maths and reading show that 15-year-olds today score what 14-year-olds would have done a decade ago. Our correspondent explains the long-term decline. Is Miami’s thriving economic growth sustainable? And why Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show is a microcosm of Britain.
Guests and host:
- Mark Johnson, senior editor
- Cerian Richmond Jones, international economics correspondent
- Sonny Loughran, Britain correspondent
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- PISA, education, test scores, exams, aptitude
- Miami, Trump, Florida, hurricane
- Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, BBC
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