- Andreas Schleicher is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) director for education and skills.
At a time when educational performance is declining across much of the world, Türkiye is moving in the opposite direction. The OECD’s PISA assessment, which tested more than 760,000 students in 91 countries and economies, shows Türkiye’s was one of the few education systems to improve in science, reading, and math between 2022 and 2025. In contrast, average performance across OECD countries dropped to record lows in all three subjects.
Türkiye now performs above the OECD average in science and reading, and close to it in math. Since 2015, the share of low-performing students has fallen by 25 percentage points in science and by 16 percentage points in both reading and math. As participation has broadened, Türkiye has succeeded in moving many students from struggling with basic tasks to demonstrating functional knowledge. In science, for example, 81% of students in Türkiye have now reached at least basic proficiency, compared with 74% across OECD countries.
These successes stem partly from Türkiye’s expansion of access to education since the early 2000s. Participation in primary and lower secondary education is now universal. And educational attainment among young adults has risen sharply: the share of 25- to 34-year-olds without an upper secondary qualification fell from 48% in 2015 to 26% in 2025. This wider participation makes Türkiye’s performance gains especially notable. Bringing more disadvantaged students into education can initially put downward pressure on average scores. But Türkiye has raised average performance while reducing the share of low performers. That is a significant achievement, even though substantial inequalities between students and schools remain.
Economic development drives educational quality
Economic development has played a part. Rising living standards have improved the circumstances in which many children grow up and learn. And shifts in education policy have mattered too. Türkiye extended compulsory education to 12 years, expanded school capacity, and invested in digital infrastructure. In addition, curriculum reforms placed greater emphasis on applying knowledge and solving problems. Türkiye has also expanded its use of national assessments and international benchmarks, including PISA, to give policymakers a clearer view of where students are progressing and where they are falling behind.
What makes Türkiye’s recent improvement particularly striking is that it has coincided with a decline in education spending relative to the size of the economy. Government expenditures on primary to tertiary education fell from 4.1% of GDP in 2015 to 3.2% in 2023. That does not mean spending is unimportant, but it suggests that Türkiye has used its resources more efficiently.
Türkiye also achieves comparatively strong results among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. While almost one-third of its PISA participants were in the bottom quarter of the international socioeconomic distribution, these students achieved an average science score of 466 points – one of the highest scores recorded among students from comparable backgrounds.
There are also some challenges. In 2025, 53% of students in Türkiye reported skipping at least one full day of school during the two weeks before the PISA assessment, compared with 22% across OECD countries. Around 32% said that they could not work well in most or all science lessons, compared with an OECD average of 19%. Bullying increased between 2022 and 2025, while students’ reports of regular family support declined. In addition, 28% of students agreed that school had been a waste of time.
Where does artificial intelligence stand in student life?
Preparing students for the digital age presents another hurdle. Students in Türkiye performed below the OECD average in computational problem-solving. At the same time, a higher share of students in Türkiye used artificial intelligence chatbots for schoolwork than the OECD average: 44% used them to conduct preliminary research and draft writing assignments. But using AI frequently is not the same as using it well. One of Türkiye’s next challenges is to ensure that students learn to assess the quality of AI-generated information rather than simply consume it.
Türkiye has shown that an education system can expand participation and raise performance, even as results deteriorate internationally. Its next test is different. Policymakers need to make the country's educational progress broader, deeper, and more equitable, reaching the students who still miss school, struggle with math, and are at risk of being left behind. It’s a challenge, but I am sure that Türkiye will succeed.
*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu.
