Editorial: South Korea’s 15-year-olds post record-low reading and math scores as short videos and AI undermine literacy

South Korean 15-year-olds recorded their lowest-ever results in reading and mathematics in the OECD’s PISA 2025 assessment. The decline has prompted an editorial warning that short-form video and artificial intelligence are blocking literacy.

The average reading score fell 14 points from the previous assessment to 501, the lowest level since PISA began in 2000. Mathematics also reached a record low at 522. Science came in at 526, below the previous assessment and 26 points lower than South Korea’s highest result in 2000.

PISA is conducted every three years and ranks student performance internationally. The latest assessment involved 760,000 students from 91 countries.

The editorial says the fall in absolute scores is troubling, but South Korea’s relative position is even more concerning. The country fell behind China, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, which occupied the top tier across the three subjects. South Korea’s reading score was 34 points below Singapore’s leading result. The gaps were larger in mathematics and science, with a 90-point deficit to China in mathematics and a substantial gap in science.