El Salvador recorded gains across science, mathematics and reading in the 2025 PISA assessment, placing the country among a small group of nations to improve its performance compared with 2022.
El Salvador is showing a positive trajectory in international education assessments, according to the latest results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The country increased its scores in all three core PISA subjects, even as educational performance declined in many participating systems worldwide.
Compared with 2022, Salvadoran students gained 12 points in science, three points in mathematics and two points in reading. The OECD’s 2025 results place El Salvador at 385 points in mathematics, 366 in reading and 346 in science.
Tanja Vujicic, Senior Policy Analyst at the OECD, highlighted El Salvador as one of the few countries among the 91 assessed that managed to improve while maintaining a positive trend, while emphasizing that further progress remains necessary.
The country also presented results from PISA for Schools, an assessment conducted in 171 public schools participating in an education modernization pilot. The initiative combines technology, artificial intelligence, updated teaching methodologies and teacher support.
A total of 1,198 students participated in the pilot assessment, achieving results above El Salvador’s national average and reaching levels comparable to the averages recorded by Germany and Sweden in PISA 2022, according to officials presenting the results.
Miriam Preckler, Director of Education at CAF, said the students demonstrated performance comparable to, and in some areas higher than, Germany, describing the pilot’s results in mathematics and reading as particularly positive.
Education Minister Karla Trigueros credited ongoing reforms—including expanded access to digital devices and the incorporation of artificial intelligence—with contributing to the country’s progress.
While the results do not mean El Salvador has closed its educational gaps, the 2025 PISA findings provide evidence of measurable improvement and a positive direction for the country’s education system. The results also reinforce El Salvador’s broader push to combine technology, AI and new pedagogical approaches in public education.