// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Wales falls further behind rest of UK in international school tests
The Pisa study tests 15-year-olds' knowledge and skills in reading, maths and science
Wales' performance in international tests for 15-year-olds has fallen further behind other UK nations.
The biggest drop was in maths scores with reading results also lower, while average science scores in the three-yearly Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) study were slightly up.
The tests were taken by a sample of teenagers in 91 countries and economies in 2025, and are seen as an important yardstick of how education systems are performing.
When results were last published in 2023, Wales' recorded its lowest ever scores in all three subjects.
The minister for education and Welsh language, Anna Brychan, said plans were in place to support schools to raise standards.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the results showed Wales' "overall downward trend still continuing".
In Wales, 113 schools took part in Pisa with 3,406 pupils sitting the tests.
The average maths score fell from 466 to 456 while in other UK nations' results were broadly stable, leading to a widening gap as Wales fell further behind.
In every round of Pisa there is a focus on one of the three main test subjects and this time it was science - the only area where results were up a little.