(de-news.net) – After mediocre PISA results, discussions about education reform have become more pronounced in Germany. Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) has emphasized social media regulation, increased oversight of education, and focused investment. The findings show persistent socioeconomic disparities and historically low levels of student achievement, while proposals from across the political spectrum range from early childhood assessments and increased federal-state cooperation to increased funding for education.
In response to Germany’s weak performance in the latest PISA study, Prien has promised a prompt government response, arguing that research already provides clear guidance on the measures that need to be taken. During the Bundestag’s budget debate, the CDU politician called for greater determination in translating evidence-based recommendations into policy, including stronger support for families through additional parent-support professionals. She also plans to tighten regulations governing children’s use of social media, with corresponding measures expected to be implemented later this year.
The Federal Government’s approach has drawn criticism from opposition parties, reflecting broader disagreement over how Germany should respond to the results and how resources should be allocated. The AfD argued that education and family policy did not provide sufficient incentives for higher birth rates and instead risked turning children into a financial burden for families. The Left, meanwhile, accused Prien of cutting support for families and leaving parents without adequate assistance.
Prien has placed particular emphasis on children’s exposure to screen time and social media following the PISA results. In an interview with RBB, she argued that extensive use of digital media was partly associated with declining concentration, endurance and reading comprehension among children. Against that backdrop, she has backed age restrictions for social-media platforms, combined with effective age-verification mechanisms. Prien said she intends to submit corresponding proposals to the Cabinet within the coming weeks and indicated that action at the European level would also be necessary to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful or addictive content.
Divisions emerge over the right response to the education crisis
At the same time, Prien has stressed that regulation alone would not address the broader educational challenge. She has called for stronger media education so that children remain able to engage critically with content and sustain their concentration in an environment increasingly shaped by digital technologies and artificial intelligence. The issue therefore forms part of a wider debate over how schools and families should respond to changing patterns of childhood media consumption.
Prien has also called for a more effective education-monitoring system in Germany. In her view, national PISA results provide an important overall picture but do not sufficiently explain how educational performance and reform progress vary among the individual states. A stronger data-based monitoring framework should therefore track educational development more systematically across all grades and make differences in the implementation of reforms more visible.
Despite what she described as severe pressure on federal, state and local budgets, Prien pointed to additional resources secured for education. These include continued financing for the DigitalPakt as well as 1.5 billion euros in additional funding next year for the Startchancen and quality-development initiative in early-childhood education. Further resources are intended to support a joint federal-state roadmap that translates broader educational objectives into concrete measures. The minister has presented these initiatives as evidence that education remains a funding priority despite the wider budgetary constraints.
Meanwhile, the PISA findings have intensified calls for earlier assessment and intervention, particularly before children enter primary school. Rhineland-Palatinate Premier Gordon Schnieder (CDU) has proposed mandatory assessments for four-year-olds to determine whether children have acquired the necessary basic language and motor skills before starting school. The proposal reflects concern that some children enter school without sufficient German-language abilities or basic practical skills needed for classroom learning.
The Federal Ministry for Education, for its part, is set to have a budget of about 15.48 billion euros next year. That represents a reduction of roughly 1.2 billion euros compared with the current year, underscoring the fiscal constraints surrounding the government’s efforts to respond to the education findings.
The debate has also revived calls for a national education summit. CDU education specialist Michael Hose argued that coordinated action by the federal government and the states was overdue, particularly because the latest study again demonstrated the strong relationship between socioeconomic background and educational outcomes. A spokesperson for the SPD deputy parliamentary group has likewise expressed support for convening such a summit. The cross-party backing reflects a broader recognition that persistent educational disparities extend beyond the responsibility of individual states.
Researchers urge earlier support in the face of a socioeconomic education gap
The Greens, however, have placed greater emphasis on structural reform of Germany’s federal education system rather than another temporary coordination effort. Party leader Franziska Brantner has argued that educational opportunities should not depend on where a child lives, which school the child attends or which teacher happens to provide instruction. She has called for substantially closer cooperation between the federal government and the states and for greater federal authority to co-finance investment in schools.
Brantner has rejected another commission or education summit in favor of a nationwide reform of the education system. In her assessment, the longstanding restrictions on federal-state cooperation are becoming increasingly difficult to justify, particularly because education is also regarded as an important means of strengthening democratic resilience against extremism. The debate over the PISA results has thus also become a debate over whether Germany’s federal structure remains sufficiently capable of delivering comparable educational opportunities.
Heidi Reichinnek, the leader of the Left parliamentary group, has similarly linked the PISA results to persistent educational inequality while criticizing proposed reductions in education spending. She argued that understaffing, deteriorating school infrastructure and insufficient time for teaching should not be regarded as unavoidable conditions. Instead, she attributed them to political decisions and competing budget priorities.
From that perspective, addressing the structural disparities highlighted by PISA would require greater investment in schools, early-childhood education and personnel, as well as improved staffing ratios. The argument places the quality of educational infrastructure and staffing at the center of the discussion over whether Germany can reverse its declining performance and reduce the influence of socioeconomic background on educational outcomes.
The 2025 PISA results show German 15-year-olds performing at the OECD average in science, reading and mathematics, while simultaneously recording historic lows in their national performance. About one in five students lacks sufficient basic competencies across all three areas. The results also point to an unprecedented socioeconomic divide: only about 2 percent of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families attain high levels of competence, compared with roughly 25 percent among students from more privileged families.
Researchers have consequently recommended identifying educational support needs at an earlier stage, providing targeted assistance during early childhood and strengthening schools according to their specific needs. The findings have renewed attention to the possibility that disparities established before or around school entry can shape later educational trajectories.
Samuel Greiff, a PISA researcher, has characterized the results as deeply concerning while emphasizing that they do not determine Germany’s future educational performance. He pointed to the country’s experience following the PISA shock 25 years ago as evidence that substantial changes in an education system are possible. The current results therefore present both a warning about persistent weaknesses and a test of whether Germany can again translate evidence and political consensus into sustained educational reform.
