Trending: New Global Test Scores
Are Teenagers Getting Dumber? Inside the Worst Global Test Scores in 25 Years (and the 5 Habits That Fix Them)
The Economist just asked the question every parent has been whispering. The answer is no. But what is actually happening to teenage minds is stranger, more alarming, and far more fixable than the headlines suggest.
Here is a number that should stop every parent mid-scroll:
466
The lowest average reading score ever recorded
That is the new average reading score for 15-year-olds across the world’s richest countries. In 2012 it was 501. The OECD says the slide since 2015 alone equals about a year and a half of lost schooling.
But the most unsettling part is not the drop. It is why it is happening. And once you see it, you will start noticing it at your own kitchen table.
When I started ConnectPrep in 2013, most of my conversations with parents were about strategy: which test, which schools, how many practice tests. Today, the first conversation is more often about attention. Parents tell me some version of the same thing: “My kid is smart. Why doesn’t the score show it?”
So when The Economist asked whether teenagers are getting dumber, I didn’t read it as clickbait. I read it as the question I hear from families all the time, now backed by data from 91 countries. My background is in public policy, so I spent the week digging into the actual reports behind the video. Here is what I found, and what I think it means for your family.
The 30-second version
- The data: PISA 2025 tested about 760,000 teens in 91 countries and economies. Average reading and math across the OECD hit the lowest levels ever recorded.
- The U.S.: reading fell 14 points to 490, the lowest American reading score on record. America climbed the rankings only because other countries fell faster.
- The real problem: not intelligence, but habits. A rising share of “hasty readers,” screen distraction, fading reading stamina, and AI doing the thinking.
- The twist: habits can be retrained fast. And when the average slips, the student who can focus becomes rare. Rare is exactly what colleges notice.
The Economist asked. The data answered.
On September 24, The Economist posted a short video with a title built to make parents flinch: “Are teenagers getting dumber?” Its core finding is blunt. Average test scores in rich countries plummeted after the pandemic, and they haven’t rebounded since. The Economist’s data team went further, noting that in the newest round the declines in literacy are actually speeding up.
Their source is PISA, the Programme for International Student Assessment run by the OECD. Every few years it tests 15-year-olds around the world on whether they can actually use reading, math and science to solve real problems. The 2025 results, released September 8, are the bleakest in the test’s 25 year history.
The worst global report card in 25 years
OECD average PISA scores: peak vs. 2025
Bar length scaled from 400 to 520 points to make the change visible.
Put in plain English: today’s average 15-year-old reads at roughly the level of a student a year younger a decade ago. Math is down 22 points since 2015, a little more than a year of learning. Science has held up best, but it too sits at its lowest recorded average.
How American teens stack up
| Subject | U.S. score (2025) | U.S. rank | Change since 2022 | OECD average (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 490 | 13th | Down 14, lowest U.S. score on record | 466 |
| Math | 463 | 27th | No significant change | 469 |
| Science | 502 | 13th | No significant change | 486 |
Sources: OECD PISA 2025 Results; U.S. figures as reported by School Rubric and Chalkbeat; OECD averages as reported by AFP. U.S. results carry an OECD flag for lower school participation.
Yes, the U.S. moved up the rankings. But that is like moving up in a race because everyone around you tripped. American reading still hit a record low, and U.S. math sits at or below the international average. Chalkbeat also reports that the gap between America’s strongest and weakest students is wider than in most countries, so the national average hides two very different realities.
Everyone else got worse faster.
It’s not just one test. Every alarm is going off at once.
If PISA were the only warning sign, you could argue it was a fluke. It isn’t. Last year the Nation’s Report Card (NAEP), America’s own national exam, found that among U.S. 12th graders:
These are seniors, the students applying to college right now. When a global test and a national test, built by different organizations for different purposes, point in exactly the same direction, it stops being noise. It is a trend.
So, are teenagers actually getting dumber?
No. And understanding why is the key to fixing it.
PISA does not measure raw intelligence. It measures whether students can apply what they know: read a dense passage and pull out the argument, reason through a multi step problem, evaluate evidence. What is collapsing is not brainpower. It is the set of habits that turns brainpower into performance: sustained attention, careful reading, and the willingness to sit with a hard problem instead of reaching for a shortcut.
Researchers studying a related puzzle, the so-called “reverse Flynn effect” (IQ scores rose for most of the 20th century, then began flattening or slipping in some countries), have reached a similar conclusion. A widely cited study of Norwegian data found the shift was driven by environmental factors, not genetics. Environmental means changeable. That is the hopeful headline hiding inside the scary one.
They’re losing practice.
Meet the “hasty reader,” the biggest red flag in the data
Buried in the PISA report is a phrase every parent should know. The OECD describes a growing group of students who rush through a text and give a quick wrong answer. The share of these “hasty readers” jumped from about 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2025.
This is the pattern I see most often in bright students whose scores don’t match their ability. They are not confused. They are fast. They skim a passage the way they skim a feed, grab the first answer that feels right, and move on. On a phone, that is efficient. On the SAT, it is expensive.
Is your teen a hasty reader? Check the signs
- Finishes reading assignments suspiciously fast, then can’t explain what happened
- Misses questions they “knew” and says “I didn’t see that part”
- Struggles to summarize a paragraph in one clear sentence
- Loses steam after a page or two of a real book
- Checks their phone within minutes of starting homework
- Has test scores noticeably lower than their grades would predict
Three or more? The good news: hasty reading is a habit, not a ceiling. It usually responds quickly to deliberate practice, and the 30-day reset below is built for exactly this.
Here is a simple test you can try at home tonight. Hand your teen a short article and ask them to read it out loud. Hasty readers almost always skip or swap the small words: “not,” “only,” “rarely,” “most.” On a phone, those words barely matter. On the SAT, they are often the entire question.
The fix isn’t reading faster. It’s learning to notice. And the moment a student realizes they’ve been skimming right past the answer, you can almost see the light go on.
The 5 forces rewiring how teens think
1. The pandemic’s long tail
Scores had been drifting down since around 2012, then fell off a cliff after 2020 and never recovered. Absenteeism and classroom disruption rose and stayed high.
2. The phone in the room
More than one in four students say classmates are distracted by devices in most or every science lesson. Distraction was tied to lower scores in 59 of 82 school systems studied.
3. Skimming as a default
The hasty reader share rose from about 7% to 11% in seven years. Short-form feeds train speed. Tests reward precision.
4. The disappearing book
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann tied weaker reading to more screen time and less reading for pleasure. Stamina for long text is fading.
5. Outsourcing the thinking
Close to half of students use AI chatbots regularly. Frequent users scored about 20 points lower in science, roughly a year of learning.
Bonus: too few teachers
About four in ten students attend schools where principals say teacher shortages hinder instruction. Fewer adults means less individual attention.
To be fair, researchers still argue about how much blame each force deserves. A ParentData analysis points out that countries with heavy smartphone use also had longer school closures, which makes the two hard to untangle, and early studies of school phone bans show modest gains rather than miracles. My view from the tutoring table: the exact split matters less than the fix, and the fix for all five looks remarkably similar.
I’m not anti-AI. I use it in my own work every day, and students will need it in college and beyond. But there is a big difference between a student who asks AI to explain why their answer was wrong and a student who asks AI for the answer. The first one is learning. The second one is renting someone else’s thinking, and the bill comes due on test day, when the chatbot isn’t in the room.
Myth vs. fact: what parents get wrong about the decline
What Singapore, Estonia and England know that we don’t
The Economist’s video asks which countries are getting it right, and the answer is revealing. East Asian systems dominate the top of the table: Singapore, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and several Chinese jurisdictions. The only non-Asian systems in the global top ten are Estonia and the United Kingdom. Eleven countries, including Lithuania, the Slovak Republic, Türkiye and Uruguay, actually improved in science over the past decade.
Their secret isn’t a flashy app or a longer school day. According to the OECD, the most successful systems focus on fewer topics in greater depth, invest in teachers, engage parents, and give struggling students targeted support. England’s strong showing is often credited to a sustained focus on systematic phonics and early reading.
The hidden opportunity nobody is talking about
This is where a global headline becomes very personal for families with college ambitions.
The Digital SAT punishes hasty reading
The SAT’s Reading and Writing section is built on dozens of short passages, each followed by a single question. It looks quick and friendly, which is exactly the trap. The test rewards students who slow down enough to catch one qualifying word, one shift in tone, or one line of evidence that actually supports a claim. The PISA pattern of rushing to a quick wrong answer is the single most common reason I see strong students underperform on SAT reading.
Test scores are back in the spotlight
A growing list of highly selective colleges, including MIT, Dartmouth, Yale, Brown and Harvard, once again require scores, and many test optional schools weigh a strong score heavily when it is submitted. When grades have drifted up while national skill levels drift down, a strong standardized score becomes one of the clearest signals of real readiness.
When the average slips, focus becomes a superpower
Think about what this data really means for your child. If the typical student is losing ground on attention and reading stamina, the student who builds those skills doesn’t just keep pace. They separate. The teen who can read deeply, reason through a hard problem, and write clearly without an AI crutch now stands out in testing, in the classroom, and in the college essay.
deep focus is the new competitive edge.
The biggest score jumps I see rarely come from learning a new trick. They come from a student slowing down, reading every word, and trusting that they’re capable of getting it right. Content can be taught in weeks. Focus and confidence take a little longer, but they last.
That’s why I don’t believe this data describes a lost generation. It describes a generation handed the most distracting environment in history that is still, underneath it all, as curious and capable as any I’ve worked with.
The 30-day focus reset for families
You don’t need a total overhaul. You need four weeks of small, consistent changes. Here is the plan I give families.
Clear the desk
Phones live in another room during homework, not face down on the desk. Chargers move out of the bedroom at night.
Rebuild stamina
20 to 30 minutes of reading for pleasure every day. Their choice of book, including graphic novels and sports biographies. Stamina first, reading list later.
Slow down on purpose
For every assigned reading: underline the claim, circle the evidence, and explain the point in one sentence. This single drill transfers straight to the SAT and ACT.
Measure it
Take a full-length SAT, ACT or PSAT diagnostic. Look at accuracy and pacing, not just the score, to see whether the gap is stamina, content, or rushing.
Screenshot this: 5 house rules for focused teens
Put it on the fridge. Send it to the group chat.
- Homework hours are phone-free hours. Out of sight, out of mind.
- Read something real every day. Anything longer than a caption counts.
- AI can explain, never write. Use it as a tutor, not a ghostwriter.
- Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Accuracy first, speed second.
- Show up. Every missed school day compounds.
Find out where your teen really stands
ConnectPrep offers one-on-one SAT, ACT and academic tutoring online nationwide and in person in select markets. Start with a diagnostic and a personalized plan built around your child’s specific gaps, including hasty reading and pacing.
Frequently asked questions
Are teenagers actually getting dumber?
No. PISA 2025 shows record low average reading and math scores, but PISA measures applied skills, not intelligence. The declines point to weaker habits such as sustained reading, focus and independent problem solving, which can be rebuilt with practice.
What did The Economist say about teenagers and test scores?
In a September 2026 video, The Economist reported that average test scores in rich countries plummeted after the covid-19 pandemic and have not rebounded, and it analyzed the data to understand why students are struggling and which countries are doing better.
What is PISA and who takes it?
PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. It tests 15-year-olds in reading, math and science. The 2025 round included about 760,000 students in 91 countries and economies, with results released on September 8, 2026.
How did U.S. students do on PISA 2025?
U.S. students scored 490 in reading, down 14 points and the lowest U.S. reading score on record, plus 463 in math and 502 in science, with math and science essentially unchanged since 2022. The U.S. rose in the rankings mainly because other countries declined faster.
What is a “hasty reader”?
The OECD uses the term for students who rush through a text and give a quick wrong answer. Their share rose from about 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2025. Hasty reading is a habit, and it responds well to deliberate practice such as summarizing each passage in one sentence.
Which countries scored highest on PISA 2025?
East Asian systems led, including Singapore, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and several Chinese jurisdictions. Estonia and the United Kingdom were the only non-Asian systems in the global top ten.
Are smartphones to blame for falling test scores?
They are part of the picture. PISA found device distraction in class was linked to lower scores in most school systems, and students report about 3.4 hours a day of leisure screen time. Some researchers argue pandemic school closures explain more of the drop. Most likely, several factors are working together.
Does using AI hurt student learning?
How it is used matters. In PISA 2025, frequent AI chatbot users scored about 20 points lower in science, and students who didn’t use AI for writing assignments outperformed those who did. Students taught to evaluate AI generated information did better, so guided use beats both avoidance and dependence.
What does this mean for my child’s SAT or ACT score?
The skills slipping nationally, careful reading and sustained focus, are exactly what the Digital SAT and ACT reward. Students who deliberately build those habits tend to see meaningful score gains and stand out more in a year when averages are falling.
The bottom line
A final word from me
The Economist is right to ask the question, and the data is right to worry us. But after more than 15 years of working with students, here is what I know for sure: today’s teenagers are not less capable. They’ve been handed an environment that makes deep focus harder than it has ever been.
So start small. Put the phone in another room tonight. Hand them a book they actually want to read. Ask them to explain one idea in their own words. None of it is flashy, but that is how focus gets rebuilt, one evening at a time. The families who do this won’t just avoid the decline. They’ll put their kids ahead of it.
And if you ever want a second set of eyes on where your student stands, I’m always happy to talk.
Jeremy
Jeremy Fine, Founder, ConnectPrep
Know a parent who needs to see this? Send it to them. It might be the most useful thing they read this week.
Jeremy Fine is the founder of ConnectPrep, a national test prep, academic tutoring and college admissions counseling firm based in Westport, Connecticut, serving students online nationwide and in person in select markets.
Sources
- The Economist, “Are teenagers getting dumber?” (video), September 24, 2026.
- The Economist, “Are teenagers growing dimmer?”, September 8, 2026.
- OECD, PISA 2025: Students’ reading and mathematics performance declined sharply across the OECD, September 2026.
- OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I).
- Chalkbeat, U.S. ranking on PISA international test improves as other countries decline, September 8, 2026.
- School Rubric, PISA 2025: Global scores hit historic lows as U.S. reading drops to lowest level on record.
- AFP via U.S. News, Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time, September 8, 2026.
- National Assessment Governing Board, Nation’s Report Card shows declines in 12th-grade math and reading, September 9, 2025.
- Bratsberg and Rogeberg, Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused, PNAS, 2018.
- ParentData, Did smartphones cause global test score declines?