The results of the PISA 2025 survey, published by the OECD, once again reveal the difficulties facing our education system. While the performance of students in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation is now around the OECD average in the three evaluated areas (science, mathematics and reading), this apparent stabilisation cannot mask a worrying underlying trend: since 2018, results have fallen by 28 points in mathematics, 15 points in reading, and 3 points in science.
“Let's not sweep the dust under the carpet: these are not good results. We are indeed declining less quickly than other education systems and we are now reaching the OECD average in science, but I refuse to define progress by the lowest bar. We cannot be satisfied with being the “least bad”. Our ambition must be much higher: reverse the trend and break this negative spiral of PISA results”, stresses Valérie Glatigny, Minister of Education.
In science, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation scores 482 points, compared with 479 in 2022 and 485 in 2018. In mathematics, the score reaches 467 points, compared with 474 in 2022 and 495 in 2018. In reading, it stands at 466 points, compared with 474 in 2022 and 481 in 2018.
The convergence with the OECD average must therefore be interpreted with caution. It does not reflect an improvement in the performance of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation: this remains broadly stable, while the OECD average has fallen sharply. The WBF is thus converging towards a declining average, not because it is improving itself. The goal cannot therefore be to settle for this apparent stability. It must be to sustainably advance our education system, looking to the systems that achieve the best results to raise our entire education system.
Discipline, motivation, absenteeism: warning signals
The OECD does not point to a single cause of declining performance, but rather to a range of factors which, combined, weaken learning. These include a decline in effort and perseverance among pupils, greater difficulty with long texts and complex tasks, a decline in reading enjoyment, increased absenteeism, but also a more difficult school and disciplinary climate.
“This confirms a conviction: to learn, you need to be able to concentrate, make an effort and be in a classroom where the teacher can teach. Academic rigour and wellbeing are not opposites. The best education systems succeed precisely in combining both”, stresses Valérie Glatigny.
Strengthening basic learning and intervening earlier
To reverse the trend, several reforms have already been launched to put basic learning and rigour back at the heart of schooling.
- The CLÉ test, organised for the first time this year at the start of the 4th year of primary school, aims to identify difficulties in arithmetic, reading and writing more quickly and to intervene before they become entrenched.
- Personalised support in primary school and 1st year of secondary school, with 460 additional full-time equivalent staff.
- The pass thresholds for certifying external assessments will be raised from 50% to 60%.
- Since this school year, there is an additional maths period and two periods of digital skills in the 1st year of secondary school.
Restoring a climate conducive to learning
The PISA results also reinforce the need to work on school climate and teacher authority.
- The ban on recreational smartphone use during school hours aims in particular to restore concentration and interaction between pupils.
- The programme to combat bullying and cyberbullying has also been strengthened, with €8 million mobilised over four years.
- Since 1 September, the new Criminal Code fully recognises teachers among those exercising a societal function and strengthens their protection against violence.
- Ending the automatic nature of certain appeals also aims to reaffirm confidence in their pedagogical expertise.
- The fight against absenteeism and dropping out has also been strengthened: families are now alerted more quickly in the event of unjustified absences, so that action can be taken before dropping out becomes entrenched.
“For too long, talking about rigour, effort or discipline was sometimes seen as outdated. Yet the PISA survey reminds us of an obvious truth: we will not improve learning without also working on the conditions in which it takes place. I want a school that supports, but also a school that demands, and that lifts our pupils and our education upwards”, concludes Valérie Glatigny.
The PISA 2025 results cover 2,819 15-year-old pupils from 98 secondary schools in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.