{"id":2438,"date":"2026-09-13T12:58:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T12:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.upside-education.ch\/pisa-2025-was-die-ergebnisse-fuer-ihr-kind-bedeuten\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T13:42:16","slug":"pisa-2025-switzerland-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.upside-education.ch\/en\/pisa-2025-switzerland-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"PISA 2025: What the Results Mean for Your Child"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Building strong foundations and independent learning habits from an early age
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\n The latest PISA results give us reason to look more closely. Over the past ten years, performance in mathematics and reading has declined in Switzerland. A substantial proportion of 15-year-olds do not reach the baseline level of proficiency in these subjects. For parents, this raises a very practical question: Does my child have the foundations they need for the next stage of learning?<\/strong> These include both subject knowledge and the ability to plan tasks and gradually take greater responsibility for their own learning.\n <\/p>\n

\n Both deserve attention early on. When difficulties only become apparent shortly before an important exam, children often have several things to catch up on at once. If learning revolves mainly around the next test over a longer period, their foundations can remain shaky and gaps can widen. Recognising recurring difficulties early gives parents, children and teachers the opportunity to work on them together.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/blockquote>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n

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What PISA tells us about foundational skills<\/h2>\n

A substantial proportion of young people do not reach baseline proficiency. The long-term trend is concerning.<\/p>\n

The PISA 2025 results, published on 8 September 2026, show that Switzerland remains above the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science. However, performance in mathematics and reading has declined over the past ten years, while science performance has remained stable.
\nSwiss government and cantonal education authorities<\/a><\/p>\n

\"PISA<\/p>\n

Looking at baseline proficiency is particularly revealing. Around 23% of 15-year-olds in Switzerland perform below PISA Level 2 in mathematics<\/strong>, and around 29% in reading<\/strong>. Since 2015, these proportions have increased by seven and nine percentage points respectively. At Level 2, students can, for example, express a simple everyday situation mathematically or identify the main idea in a text of moderate length. Students below this threshold have not yet developed sufficient proficiency in these basic applications.
\nOECD country note: Switzerland<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Line<\/p>\n

PISA assesses 15-year-olds. The results do not tell us when a particular gap developed or how well an individual school is performing. For us, however, the trend is a clear reason to pay closer attention to the foundations that successful learning depends on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n

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\n New difficulties can reveal older gaps
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\n To understand new material, children need to draw on knowledge they already understand and can use confidently.\n <\/p>\n

\n In our work at Upside Education, we often meet children and teenagers whose current difficulties are linked to gaps that have developed over months or even years. These frequently involve concepts from primary school that they continue to need throughout their education.\n <\/p>\n

\n Fractions are a useful example. A secondary school student may understand the new method for solving an equation but get stuck as soon as fractions are involved. It then makes sense to revisit the underlying concepts, often taught in the fifth or sixth year of Swiss primary school: What does a fraction represent? Why does multiplying its numerator and denominator by the same number leave its value unchanged? How do fractions, decimals and percentages relate to one another, and how can we convert between them? How are fractions connected to division?\n <\/p>\n

\n Research also highlights the importance of these foundations. A longitudinal study using data from the United States and the United Kingdom found that understanding fractions and division in primary school was associated with mathematics achievement five to six years later. This relationship remained after the researchers accounted for other differences between the children.
\n Siegler and colleagues, 2012<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n Reading offers a similar example. A child who struggles to understand an informational text must also work harder to make sense of the reading material in history or science. This leaves less attention available for the question they are actually trying to answer.\n <\/p>\n

\n Foundational skills therefore need to be revisited regularly, explained and applied in different tasks, whatever the child\u2019s age. Many are first developed in primary school and strengthened in secondary school. If gaps become apparent later, addressing them remains an essential part of learning.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n

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\n Planning and organisation need guided practice
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\n Calendars, homework diaries and study plans are useful tools. Children still need to learn how to use them effectively.\n <\/p>\n

\n As children get older, they are expected to take on more responsibility: keeping track of homework, having the right materials ready and preparing for tests. These expectations depend on skills that need to be deliberately practised in everyday life.\n <\/p>\n

\n This can begin in simple ways during primary school. Before starting homework, a child can look at what needs doing with an adult and decide where to begin. Later, they can practise estimating how long tasks will take and spreading preparation across several days. The amount of guidance they need depends on their stage of development and previous experience.\n <\/p>\n

\n An upcoming test offers a practical opportunity to work through these steps:\n <\/p>\n