Armenia participates in the PISA international assessment for the first time

8 September, YEREVAN - For the first time, Armenia took part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 international study. The assessment is conducted among 15-year-old students and evaluates performance across three areas: reading, mathematics, and science. PISA is administered every four years and measures how effectively students can apply their knowledge to real-life situations. 

In 2025, a total of 91 countries participated in the assessment. In Armenia, the evaluation was conducted from March to May 2025, engaging approximately 7,000 students from 295 schools. 

The main results of the PISA 2025 international study were presented at an event attended by education officials, international partners, experts, and representatives of the education sector. Participants included RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, Deputy Ministers Anna Babajanyan and Kristina Tataryan, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Armenia Silvia Mestroni, and Johann Hesse, Head of the Cooperation Section of the EU Delegation to Armenia. 

In her opening remarks, Minister Zhanna Andreasyan noted that Armenia’s participation in the PISA assessment had been an important objective pursued by the state in the education sector for many years. Following preparatory work that began in 2022, Armenia was able to participate fully in the assessment for the first time in 2025. 

PISA results indicate education reforms are moving in the right direction 

According to the Minister, while the PISA results reveal existing challenges in the Armenian education system, they also demonstrate that the current reforms are progressing in the right direction. She emphasized the value of independent international assessments not only in helping identify the strengths and weaknesses of a country’s education system but also in enabling a comparative outlook with the performance of other participating countries. 

She added that many of the issues highlighted by the assessment are reflected in Armenia’s education policy and appropriate measures to address these are underway. 

Results should become the subject of technical discussions 

The Minister stressed that the findings should be analyzed in detail and serve as the basis for technical discussions to support more effective planning of future policies and actions. In the coming period, thematic discussions will be organized with teachers, school principals, education experts, and other specialists. 

“Together with teachers, we need to understand where our main challenges lie and what we can do to improve the situation. Particular attention will be paid to effective school management, which remains one of the key challenges of the general education system and is also reflected to some extent in the PISA results,” the Minister emphasized. 

Increasing student motivation is a key priority 

According to Zhanna Andreasyan, the PISA results indicate another significant challenge: the need to increase the level of student motivation. “We need to devote greater attention to this issue, reconsider current approaches, and build a more effective dialogue with students. It is important to understand which factors affect student motivation and what changes are needed in the learning process to increase their interest and engagement.” 

PISA results provide an important baseline to assess the impact of the new standard 

Most of the 15-year-old students who participated in PISA 2025 were educated under Armenia’s previous national curriculum standards. These results can therefore serve as baseline data to be compared with outcomes achieved after the implementation of the new standards. 

According to the Minister, the assessment uncovers the difficulty students experience in applying acquired knowledge to practical situations. “The success of educational reforms also depends on how effectively they are applied in schools and classrooms,” the Minister stated, emphasizing that teachers should work with materials and textbooks developed in accordance with the new standards. 

At the same time, she commended the strong sides that the Armenian schools have ensured, including adaptability, perseverance, goal-setting, emotional control and the sense of belonging to school, which can serve as a foundation for further reforms and improvements in education quality. 

“PISA survey results are often a key opportunity for countries to reflect on and guide their efforts to ensure the education system keeps evolving and advancing quality learning. As this is Armenia's first participation, these results establish a reference point for planning ahead. The most consequential figures will be not only the ones presented today, but the trends over the years which follow. UNICEF remains available to support next steps to advancing quality education for all children in Armenia,” said UNICEF Deputy Representative Silvia Mestroni, noting that UNICEF supported the data analysis, preparation of the national report, and stakeholder consultations with the support of the European Union. 

The results of the PISA study were presented by Tamara Aleksanyan, Head of the Strategic Planning and Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.