Prime Minister about PISA test results: We must continue education reforms

PISA test results reveal a significant gap between the skills acquired by students in small schools and those of students in large schools. This should prompt the authorities to continue education reforms and modernize schools so that as many students as possible can study in large, well-equipped institutions. This position was expressed today by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, who urged political forces to abandon speculation on the issue and put children’s interests first.

The prime minister noted that the test results also show encouraging progress, with students in our country recording a five-point increase in Science and making progress in digital skills, with results surpassing those of some countries in the region.


“We have received the PISA test results—the largest assessment, which compares student performance in 91 countries based on similar criteria. For us, this is an opportunity to understand how well our children and students are learning compared with children in other countries. We also have encouraging results in this area. For example, in Science, we advanced by five points, demonstrating that investments in chemistry, physics, and exact sciences laboratories are beginning to show results. We also have less positive news, because results in Mathematics and Reading have declined. I believe digital skills may be our greatest source of pride, because we achieved good results, well above those of some countries in the region. We are ahead of Romania, Bulgaria, and Georgia, and once again we see that our children have made significant progress in digital skills,” Vasile Tofan said.


According to the prime minister, the largest gaps can be observed between the results achieved by students in small schools and those in large schools.


“The issue I want to draw attention to, and which I also consider to be politically important, is that the biggest gap visible in these results is the difference between large schools and smaller schools. That is where the greatest disparity lies. And since this is also a subject of political speculation, I believe it is important to tell citizens what the results actually show. For example, in Science, 59% of students in small schools do not reach the basic level, compared with only 28% in large schools. In Mathematics, 68% of children in small schools do not reach the basic level, compared with 37% in larger schools. In Reading, the figures are 65% and 32%,” he said.


In this context, the prime minister stressed the importance of continuing reforms aimed at consolidating the school network and modernizing educational institutions so that all children can benefit from equal learning conditions. The official also urged political actors to avoid turning this issue into an opportunity for speculation.


“I want to encourage—or at least make every politician who insists on keeping our children trapped in small schools with limited resources and a limited number of teachers, while speculating on this issue and sending their own children to the best schools, to large schools with extensive resources, think about these results—because a child’s future is not a subject for political speculation. We must continue education reforms, no matter how complicated they may be, and have the courage to ensure that more children study in well-equipped schools. Usually, these are large schools. Even if they have to take a bus and travel farther. We have no other option. Populism will not help us achieve better results for our children. And I want the opposition to stop promoting this populism, which so strongly discourages truly important education reforms,” Vasile Tofan concluded.


The PISA test results were presented on Tuesday by the Ministry of Education and Research. According to the results, the Republic of Moldova made progress in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment—PISA 2025. The performance of the country’s students in Science increased by five points compared with the previous edition, while the gap from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average is the smallest since the country first took part in the assessment. A good result was also achieved in the new domain, “Learning in the Digital World,” where students from our country scored 452 points—more than teenagers in countries such as Bulgaria and Romania.