Australia’s classroom disruption ranks among world’s worst, fueling calls for a ‘digital detox’

Australia’s classrooms remain among the most disrupted in the world, while students in public schools trail their independent-school peers by the equivalent of two and a half years, according to new international results.

The findings come from the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment, released by the Australian Council for Educational Research. The assessment tested the literacy of 15-year-olds in 91 countries.

PISA has been conducted every three years since 2000. The latest results point to a broader decline in reading and mathematics performance, adding to concerns about the conditions in which students are trying to learn.

The report has prompted calls for a “digital detox” as educators and policymakers confront the role of digital distraction in classrooms. The results place Australia’s disruption levels alongside a widening performance gap between its public and independent school sectors.