School performance in the Balearic Islands has worsened in all three areas assessed in PISA 2025, the OECD’s international study that evaluates the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students. Students on the islands achieved worse results than in 2022 in reading, mathematics and science and also scored below the Spanish average in all three. The largest decline was in reading comprehension, with a fall of 31 points in three years.
Specifically, students in the Balearic Islands scored 441 points in reading, 449 in mathematics and 471 in science. Compared with the previous edition of PISA, scores fell by 31, 22 and 9 points, respectively.
The results are also below those for Spain as a whole. The gap stands at 10 points in reading, where the national average is 451; eight points in mathematics, compared with 457 in Spain; and six points in science, where the national average is 477.
Education Ministry blames poor school performance in the Balearic Islands on LOMLOE
The Conselleria d’Educació i Universitats (Regional Ministry of Education and Universities) has expressed disappointment at the results. Regional Minister Antoni Vera acknowledged that “these are not good results” and attributed the decline to the reduction in teaching hours for mathematics and languages resulting from the curricula introduced under LOMLOE.
According to Vera, the implementation of the national education law, which came into force in 2021, reduced the weight given to these subjects, particularly at stages such as Bachillerato (upper secondary education). The regional minister also pointed out that the Balearic Islands did not develop the regional component of the curricula.
In response, the Education Ministry introduced new curricula that increase mathematics teaching hours and strengthen language subjects in the 2025-2026 academic year. The Ministry hopes the changes will improve essential learning and gradually lead to better results.
7.5% of students were exempt from the assessment
Another figure included in PISA 2025 is the percentage of students in the Balearic Islands who did not take part in the tests. 7.5% of students were exempt, above the OECD’s indicative 5% threshold used as a quality-control benchmark.
This percentage does not invalidate the results, which the report itself considers representative. The Education Ministry links the figure to the characteristics of the Balearic education system and points out that 19% of students on the islands are foreign nationals, the highest percentage in Spain. More information at this link.
The exemptions mainly apply to students who have recently entered the education system and are in their first year of schooling, students with persistent absenteeism or those whose academic level is two school years behind.
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