Parental involvement in children’s education is declining across many high-income countries as student performance in maths, reading and science continues to fall, according to the latest results of a major international assessment.

More than 760,000 15-year-old students from dozens of countries and economies took part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) last year.

The results, released Tuesday, showed that average scores in maths, reading and science among developed economies have fallen to their lowest levels since the assessment began.

The decline has also been reflected in the United States, where reading and maths scores have continued to drop.

Students in China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea recorded the highest scores overall. Estonia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand also performed strongly.

Researchers say declining parental engagement may be one factor behind the widespread deterioration in academic performance.

Compared with 2022, almost every country recorded a decline in parental involvement, particularly among boys. The assessment measured involvement through questions about how often parents discuss schoolwork with their children and take an interest in their learning.

“Parents see themselves more as a client of the school, not as someone who takes personal interest,” said Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which administers PISA.

The findings suggest that parental engagement can have a significant impact on academic performance.

Students who said a family member asked them at least once a week about what they had done at school scored about 35 points higher in science than those whose families showed less interest. The difference is equivalent to more than a year and a half of learning, even after accounting for socioeconomic differences.

Digital devices add to classroom distraction

Digital technology is another concern.

More than one in four students in high-income countries said their classmates were distracted by digital devices during most or every science class.

The problem appeared less severe in countries with stronger restrictions on mobile phone use in schools.

Schleicher said there is a clear association between using digital devices for leisure and lower academic performance. However, the relationship is more complicated when technology is used for learning.

Students in countries where high schoolers reported using digital devices for around two to three hours a day at school tended to achieve higher scores. Performance, however, declined when technology use went beyond that level.

Asian countries lead global rankings

Several Asian education systems continue to dominate the PISA rankings while reporting relatively low levels of digital distraction.

Fewer than 10% of students tested in Japan, South Korea and mainland China said they were frequently distracted by digital devices in class.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and participating Chinese regions were among the top 10 performers in maths, science and reading.

Nearly all students in the Chinese provinces that participated in the assessment reached at least the baseline level in maths and reading. In comparison, 65% of US students reached that level in maths and 74% in reading.

Experts say China’s growing educational advantage could have wider implications, particularly in the global competition for technological leadership.

“To win a technological race, you need the people with the science and the technology and the reading capabilities,” said Tracey Burns, chief of global strategy and research at the National Center for Education and the Economy.

The US scored around the OECD average in maths and ranked among the top 15 countries in science, reading and computational problem-solving.

However, the country’s relative ranking was partly boosted by declines elsewhere. US students’ maths and reading scores still fell to their lowest levels since PISA was first conducted in the early 2000s.

Researchers also cautioned against placing too much weight on the US results because the country did not meet the required standards for the size of its participating school and student sample.

More AI use linked to lower scores

The assessment also examined students’ use of artificial intelligence.

Overall, greater use of AI was associated with lower test scores. Students who said they never used chatbots generally performed better than those who used them.

Nearly half of students in developed economies said they use AI chatbots to help with learning at least once a week.

Schleicher pointed to China, Japan, Singapore and Estonia as examples of countries that have integrated AI into education without relying on it excessively.

He said teachers in several Asian education systems have a stronger role in designing and directing how AI is used in classrooms.

“In the United States, teachers largely implement lessons. In Asia, teachers have a very strong role,” he said.

In one Chinese classroom, for example, primary school students were practising calligraphy with traditional ink and brushes. Teachers scanned their work and used AI to analyse their handwriting and identify areas for improvement.

“The classroom, if you made a photograph, would have looked like the 1950s — students doing calligraphy with ink,” Schleicher said. “But everything was powered by AI.”