A decline in maths, science and reading skills among school pupils worldwide seen after the Covid-19 pandemic has continued, according to new figures.Warnings of a “particularly concerning” fall in young people’s reading abilities, described as being particularly important in a digital world, come in a new report detailing the latest Programme for International Assessment (Pisa) test results.“Most troubling is the decline in the very skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources and thinking critically about what we read,” Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which runs the Pisa tests, said in the report’s forward.“In turn, the share of ‘hasty readers’ – students who rush through texts and give quick but incorrect answers – almost doubled between 2018 and 2025. In a world increasingly flooded with information, our students are less likely to think deeply and separate signal from noise.” Bucking the global downwards trend, the UAE recorded improvements across maths, science and reading skills, and sits at the top of achievement for the Arab world. However, the country continues to trail behind the average for the 38-member OECD, of which it is not part.Pisa tests, usually undertaken every three years, assess 15 year olds, with the lat...
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