Jordan's PISA gains put reading at the centre of the next reform push
last updated: 2 h ago
Jordanian students improved in science, mathematics and reading in the 2025 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), reversing the decline recorded in 2022. Reading remains the weakest of the three, and education experts who spoke to Al-Ghad said the real test is whether the gains can be turned into a lasting trajectory rather than a single good cycle.اضافة اعلان
Jordan's average score rose from 375 to 407 in science, from 361 to 388 in mathematics and from 342 to 363 in reading, according to the results announced by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. The ministry reported gains of 32, 27 and 21 points respectively.
Jordan's ranking among participating countries and education systems also improved in all three areas.The improvement extended to equity measures, with some performance gaps between student groups narrowing.
Minister of Education and Human Resources Development Azmi Mahafza told a press conference announcing the results that the progress places a greater responsibility on the ministry to deliver better outcomes in future cycles. Mahafza identified reading as the biggest challenge ahead and said the ministry is working through the National Literacy Strategy to strengthen students' skills.
Reading gap remains wide
Education expert Faisal Tayeh argued that the response to the results should go beyond celebration. The rise is significant, he said, particularly because several education systems saw their averages fall in the latest cycle, but its value depends on understanding what caused it and building on those causes.
Tayeh pointed to the scale of the reading gap. Jordan's average reading score of 363 compares with an OECD average of 461. Only 26 percent of Jordanian students reached level two or above, against 69 percent across OECD countries, and the share reaching level five or higher was close to zero.
The problem, Tayeh explained, is not reading in the narrow sense. A student may grasp the direct meaning of a text yet struggle to draw conclusions, connect information, separate fact from opinion, compare sources or judge the reliability of what they read.
Addressing that, he argued, requires rebuilding a reading culture across the whole school rather than adding a reading period. Students read a text in science, a problem in mathematics, a document in history and a complex question in civics, and in each case they need to understand, analyse and evaluate.
He called for curricula that give reading more weight as a learning tool, a wider range of scientific, informational and digital texts, and a shift away from questions that reward direct recall toward those that demand comparison, deduction and evidence-based opinion.
Tayeh added that school assessments need the same overhaul. It is unrealistic, he said, to expect students to analyse and evaluate in international tests while the school system rewards memorisation. The aim is not to discard knowledge but to place it in a context where students can apply it to new situations.
Teacher development, in his view, is the decisive factor. He called for continuous, practical training that equips teachers to build questions and activities that foster reasoning, lead discussions about texts, distinguish between memorised and understood answers, and give feedback that prompts students to rethink their reading.
Tayeh also stressed early intervention. Literacy is not built at 15, the age PISA measures, but in the early grades through vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and expression, and it should be tracked with regular diagnostic tools before gaps accumulate.
Reading culture, he added, has to extend beyond schools to families, communities and the digital sphere, where the challenge is not a shortage of information but an excess of it.
He noted that the share of Jordanian students below level two in reading fell by six percentage points compared with 2022, and that the gap between the highest and lowest achievers narrowed. Both are positive signs, he said, but they do not mean the problem is solved.
In science, Tayeh said 52 percent of students remain below level two, while only 0.3 percent reach levels five and six. That calls for both remedial support for a large share of students and stretch opportunities for the strongest.
Tayeh cautioned against treating a better PISA ranking, or training students on the test format, as the goal. If students can read complex texts, evaluate sources, build arguments and solve problems, he said, improved PISA scores will follow.
A cross-curricular responsibility
Education expert Mohammad Al-Samadi described the results as evidence that the system can recover when supportive policies are in place. The task now, he said, is to make improvement part of daily practice in classrooms rather than something tied to a single test cycle.
Modern literacy, Al-Samadi explained, includes analysing texts, extracting evidence, interpreting tables and graphs, and evaluating conclusions.
Responsibility for it should therefore be shared by every subject, not left to Arabic teachers alone.
He proposed a national literacy programme that embeds text comprehension and data analysis in the curriculum, paired with simple classroom tools to identify struggling students early, short intensive interventions and regular progress monitoring.
Teacher training, he added, should focus on applicable classroom practices such as thinking aloud, guided questioning, using textual evidence, summarising and critiquing.
Al-Samadi also called for reading-friendly environments, particularly in public and remote schools, with print and digital texts suited to students' ages and interests.
Schools should become the primary unit of improvement, he said, with data used to direct technical and training support to those most in need. The shift required is from test preparation to a continuous cycle of diagnosis, classroom intervention, impact measurement and adjustment.
Institutionalising what worked
Education expert Ayesh Al-Nawaisah said sustaining the gains starts with understanding what produced them. That means analysing the test items and sub-areas that improved and linking them to earlier interventions, including teacher training, curriculum development, mock tests and remedial programmes.
High-impact initiatives should then be documented and converted from seasonal projects into standing institutional practice, he argued, so their effect survives staff changes and project closures. Curriculum, classroom teaching and assessment must remain aligned, since a break between them could reverse the results.
Al-Nawaisah called for a move from recall questions toward reasoning, analysis and problem-solving, backed by formative assessment and immediate feedback throughout the year. He also urged the use of professional learning communities among teachers, periodic short standardised tests to catch any decline before the next term, and the results of daily and term tests on the Ajyal platform for diagnosis at system, directorate and teacher level.
On reading specifically, he recommended explicit and systematic instruction in basic skills, comprehensive early-grade assessment, immediate and graduated support for struggling students, and texts of progressive difficulty. He also called for daily reading time in the school schedule, attractive classroom libraries, training for Arabic teachers on current reading-instruction guides, and partnerships with families through reading clubs and simple guided homework.
Literacy, Al-Nawaisah added, is the hidden key to learning, and intensive investment in it will lift performance in mathematics and science.
Source: Al-Ghad, reporting by Alaa Mazhar
Jordan's average score rose from 375 to 407 in science, from 361 to 388 in mathematics and from 342 to 363 in reading, according to the results announced by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. The ministry reported gains of 32, 27 and 21 points respectively.
Jordan's ranking among participating countries and education systems also improved in all three areas.The improvement extended to equity measures, with some performance gaps between student groups narrowing.
Minister of Education and Human Resources Development Azmi Mahafza told a press conference announcing the results that the progress places a greater responsibility on the ministry to deliver better outcomes in future cycles. Mahafza identified reading as the biggest challenge ahead and said the ministry is working through the National Literacy Strategy to strengthen students' skills.
Reading gap remains wide
Education expert Faisal Tayeh argued that the response to the results should go beyond celebration. The rise is significant, he said, particularly because several education systems saw their averages fall in the latest cycle, but its value depends on understanding what caused it and building on those causes.
Tayeh pointed to the scale of the reading gap. Jordan's average reading score of 363 compares with an OECD average of 461. Only 26 percent of Jordanian students reached level two or above, against 69 percent across OECD countries, and the share reaching level five or higher was close to zero.
The problem, Tayeh explained, is not reading in the narrow sense. A student may grasp the direct meaning of a text yet struggle to draw conclusions, connect information, separate fact from opinion, compare sources or judge the reliability of what they read.
Addressing that, he argued, requires rebuilding a reading culture across the whole school rather than adding a reading period. Students read a text in science, a problem in mathematics, a document in history and a complex question in civics, and in each case they need to understand, analyse and evaluate.
He called for curricula that give reading more weight as a learning tool, a wider range of scientific, informational and digital texts, and a shift away from questions that reward direct recall toward those that demand comparison, deduction and evidence-based opinion.
Tayeh added that school assessments need the same overhaul. It is unrealistic, he said, to expect students to analyse and evaluate in international tests while the school system rewards memorisation. The aim is not to discard knowledge but to place it in a context where students can apply it to new situations.
Teacher development, in his view, is the decisive factor. He called for continuous, practical training that equips teachers to build questions and activities that foster reasoning, lead discussions about texts, distinguish between memorised and understood answers, and give feedback that prompts students to rethink their reading.
Tayeh also stressed early intervention. Literacy is not built at 15, the age PISA measures, but in the early grades through vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and expression, and it should be tracked with regular diagnostic tools before gaps accumulate.
Reading culture, he added, has to extend beyond schools to families, communities and the digital sphere, where the challenge is not a shortage of information but an excess of it.
He noted that the share of Jordanian students below level two in reading fell by six percentage points compared with 2022, and that the gap between the highest and lowest achievers narrowed. Both are positive signs, he said, but they do not mean the problem is solved.
In science, Tayeh said 52 percent of students remain below level two, while only 0.3 percent reach levels five and six. That calls for both remedial support for a large share of students and stretch opportunities for the strongest.
Tayeh cautioned against treating a better PISA ranking, or training students on the test format, as the goal. If students can read complex texts, evaluate sources, build arguments and solve problems, he said, improved PISA scores will follow.
A cross-curricular responsibility
Education expert Mohammad Al-Samadi described the results as evidence that the system can recover when supportive policies are in place. The task now, he said, is to make improvement part of daily practice in classrooms rather than something tied to a single test cycle.
Modern literacy, Al-Samadi explained, includes analysing texts, extracting evidence, interpreting tables and graphs, and evaluating conclusions.
Responsibility for it should therefore be shared by every subject, not left to Arabic teachers alone.
He proposed a national literacy programme that embeds text comprehension and data analysis in the curriculum, paired with simple classroom tools to identify struggling students early, short intensive interventions and regular progress monitoring.
Teacher training, he added, should focus on applicable classroom practices such as thinking aloud, guided questioning, using textual evidence, summarising and critiquing.
Al-Samadi also called for reading-friendly environments, particularly in public and remote schools, with print and digital texts suited to students' ages and interests.
Schools should become the primary unit of improvement, he said, with data used to direct technical and training support to those most in need. The shift required is from test preparation to a continuous cycle of diagnosis, classroom intervention, impact measurement and adjustment.
Institutionalising what worked
Education expert Ayesh Al-Nawaisah said sustaining the gains starts with understanding what produced them. That means analysing the test items and sub-areas that improved and linking them to earlier interventions, including teacher training, curriculum development, mock tests and remedial programmes.
High-impact initiatives should then be documented and converted from seasonal projects into standing institutional practice, he argued, so their effect survives staff changes and project closures. Curriculum, classroom teaching and assessment must remain aligned, since a break between them could reverse the results.
Al-Nawaisah called for a move from recall questions toward reasoning, analysis and problem-solving, backed by formative assessment and immediate feedback throughout the year. He also urged the use of professional learning communities among teachers, periodic short standardised tests to catch any decline before the next term, and the results of daily and term tests on the Ajyal platform for diagnosis at system, directorate and teacher level.
On reading specifically, he recommended explicit and systematic instruction in basic skills, comprehensive early-grade assessment, immediate and graduated support for struggling students, and texts of progressive difficulty. He also called for daily reading time in the school schedule, attractive classroom libraries, training for Arabic teachers on current reading-instruction guides, and partnerships with families through reading clubs and simple guided homework.
Literacy, Al-Nawaisah added, is the hidden key to learning, and intensive investment in it will lift performance in mathematics and science.
Source: Al-Ghad, reporting by Alaa Mazhar