> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.benchmarkanalytics.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Reading: Australia’s quarter-century decline in proficiency - URL: https://www.benchmarkanalytics.com.au/reading-australias-quarter-century-decline-in-proficiency/ - Published: 2026-09-16T21:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-16T20:59:59.000Z - Author: Nick Hossack Australia’s latest PISA results show that the deterioration in educational performance extends well beyond mathematics. Reading performance has also declined substantially. When the OECD’s comparable reading series began in 2000, Australian 15-year-olds recorded an average PISA reading score of **528.3**. By 2025, that had fallen to **490.9** — a decline of **37.4 points** over a quarter of a century. The fall has not been quite as relentless as mathematics. Reading improved slightly in 2009, for example. But the long-run direction is unmistakable. Australia scored 511.8 in 2012, 502.9 in 2015, 498.1 in 2022 and **490.9 in 2025**. The change beneath the average is equally revealing. In 2000, only **12.5 per cent** of Australian students were classified as low performers in reading, while **17.6 per cent** were top performers. Australia therefore began the century with considerably more top-performing readers than low-performing ones. By 2025, that relationship had reversed. Low performers accounted for **23.4 per cent** of students, while top performers had fallen to **11.2 per cent**. There are now more than **two low-performing readers for every top-performing reader**. Yet the international comparison provides an important qualification. Australia still performs comfortably above the OECD average. Its 2025 reading score of 490.9 was almost **30 points above the OECD average of 460.9**. More strikingly, Australia has retained most of its advantage over the OECD’s consistent group of 23 countries. In 2000, Australia scored **28.7 points above the OECD-23 average**. In 2025, the margin was still **25.0 points**. That does not mean Australia has avoided decline. Rather, it means much of the developed world has experienced a similar problem. The OECD-23 reading average itself fell from 499.5 in 2000 to 465.8 in 2025. Australia’s reading story is therefore different from mathematics. The absolute decline is serious: average performance is substantially lower, low performers have almost doubled, and the proportion of top readers has fallen sharply. But Australia has not lost much ground relative to comparable countries because they have been sliding too. That may be reassuring from a league-table perspective. It is considerably less reassuring if the objective is to ensure today’s students possess the reading skills of the generation that preceded them. Australia's reading performance has fallen for 25 years PISA mean reading score, Australian 15-year-olds 2000 score 528.3 2025 score 490.9 Change since 2000 \-37.4 535 525 515 505 495 485 528.3 490.9 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018 2022 2025 Low performers 12.5% → 23.4% 2000 to 2025 Top performers 17.6% → 11.2% 2000 to 2025 Lead over OECD-23 28.7 → 25.0 pts 2000 to 2025 **The important context:** Australia has declined sharply, but its relative OECD position has changed much less because reading performance has fallen across many developed economies. **Source:** OECD PISA 2025 Results. Mean reading performance from Table I.B1.2a.37; proficiency levels from Table I.B1.2a.34\.