Covid wiped out British pupils’ gains in maths and English

Covid has caused UK teenagers to lag behind their peers from high-performing countries in maths, reading and science, a study found.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which is based on tests taken by 15-year-olds, ranked the UK outside the top 10 performers like Singapore, Japan and Korea.

In the study of 81 countries, there was an “unprecedented drop in performance” across many nations and regions for knowledge across the three subjects - which it said was probably linked to Covid.

The UK’s score for all three subjects dropped compared to levels in 2018, with the largest reduction observed in maths and reading, leaving it in 11th place compared to other countries.

The UK’s score for maths dropped by 13 points from 502 to 489 and its reading score dropped by 10 points from 504 to 494.

In science, the UK’s score confirmed a decade-long decline in performance, dropping to 500 in 2022 from 505 in 2018.

But despite the lower results, the UK has climbed the rankings in maths to joint 12th, alongside Belgium, Denmark and Poland, up from joint 17th in 2018.

In reading, the UK has also risen to 13th, up from joint 14th in 2018, when the previous Pisa assessments were carried out.

In science, the UK was ranked joint 14th, alongside Slovenia - the same ranking achieved in 2018.

Andreas Schleicher, OECD education and skills director, said: “In the last four years, since 2018, the drop in UK results is slightly less than across OECD countries. So the ranking has improved but the results did not.

“The decline in outcomes has been slower than on average across OECD countries. In that sense, the UK has been relatively more successful.”

But he added: “High-performing countries, like Singapore, Japan, actually continue to improve results during the pandemic and that’s certainly not what you can say for the UK.”

The study is usually carried out every three years but the latest round of assessment - which was due to take place in 2021 - was postponed by a year due to Covid-19.

The exceptional circumstances throughout this period included lockdowns and school closures in many countries, including the UK.

Around 690,000 students took the Pisa assessment in 2022 across the 81 countries and regions. In the UK, nearly 13,000 students participated in the study where they sat two-hour tests, each devoted to one subject.

On the impact of the pandemic on teenagers’ performance in the 2022 study, Mr Schleicher said: “I think Covid-19 probably played some role but I would not overrate it.

“I think there are underlying structural factors and they are much more likely to be permanent features of our education systems that policy-makers should really take seriously”.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “These results are testament to our incredible teachers, the hard work of students and to the Government’s unrelenting drive to raise school standards over the past 13 years.

“Taken together with our children being named ‘Best in the West’ for reading earlier this year, England is now firmly cemented as one of the top performing countries for education in the western world.”