I have taught at the university in the UK and while it’s true that the students are academically strong on average, they are also some of the most immature young people I have ever met.

The UK education system favours passing tests over softer life skills, such as independent thinking, democratic participation, creativity.

I have also worked in a tech company there, and it’s not my impression that the high PISA scores translate into high professional competence in the long run.

So I don’t really think these benchmarks have much practical value.

“We cannot say for sure but declining levels of reading for enjoyment and the shift towards digital reading – skimming social media feeds and rapidly processing information – may be compromising the ability of students to engage with complex texts and data,” Schleicher said.

I’m sure any study for that will be heavily contested by Big Tech.