El Salvador stands out in the 2025 PISA results after improving its performance in mathematics, reading and science compared with 2022, while most participating countries recorded declines.
El Salvador is emerging as one of Latin America’s strongest performers in terms of PISA 2025 progress, moving against a broader international trend of declining student achievement.
Compared with the 2022 assessment, Salvadoran students improved by 12 points in science, three points in mathematics and two points in reading. The gains are particularly notable given the widespread deterioration recorded across participating education systems.
According to data highlighted following the release of the new PISA results, El Salvador leads the Latin American region in overall improvement, followed by Puerto Rico, while most other participating countries experienced setbacks compared with the previous assessment.
The global context underscores the significance of the change. Reading performance declined in all but 13 participating systems, while mathematics scores fell in all but 14. The OECD’s PISA 2025 findings point to a broad challenge for education systems as many countries struggle to reverse declines in student performance.
For El Salvador, the results represent progress across all three core PISA subjects. Science posted the country’s largest increase, rising 12 points from 2022, followed by mathematics and reading.
The improvement comes as El Salvador continues implementing an education modernization strategy that includes expanded access to technology, artificial intelligence, new teaching methodologies and greater support for teachers.
The country also presented results from a separate PISA for Schools pilot involving 171 public schools and 1,198 students. Participants achieved results above the national average, with performance comparable to the PISA 2022 averages of Germany and Sweden in several areas.
While significant challenges remain, El Salvador’s PISA 2025 trajectory places the country among the education systems demonstrating measurable progress at a time when many others are moving in the opposite direction.