Pisa study: historic low among German young people

The performance of German young people in mathematics, reading and science has fallen to an all-time low in the Pisa test - far below the level that triggered the Pisa shock 25 years ago. They have been in decline since around 2012.

The discussions often revolve around the disastrous developments at the lower end of the performance spectrum. What is overlooked is that the decline in top performance is just as striking.

Since 2015, the proportion of those who do not progress beyond the lowest level of proficiency in mathematics has doubled. It is now over a third. These young people lack the minimum level of skills that are usually needed to get along fairly well in training, at work, but also in everyday life.

But the situation is just as bad at the top end of the performance spectrum. The proportion of those who reach the top two levels of competence has more than halved since 2012. Back then it was over 17 percent, today it is under eight percent.