Forty-five per cent of students say they recently skipped an entire school day

Almost half of Malta’s 15-year-old students said they had skipped an entire day of school during the two weeks before taking the latest PISA assessment, according to new OECD findings.

The 45% recorded in 2025 is more than double the OECD average of 22% and represents a sharp increase from the 35% reported in Malta’s 2022 assessment.

The finding forms part of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, which evaluates how effectively education systems prepare 15-year-olds to use their knowledge and skills.

Malta’s unusually high rate of whole-day absence contrasts with its figures for other forms of absenteeism.

Twenty per cent of students said they had skipped at least one class during the same two-week period, slightly below the OECD average of 24%.

Another 33% reported arriving late for school, compared with an OECD average of 50%.

The figures are based on students’ questionnaire responses rather than administrative attendance records. They nevertheless raise questions about the scale of unauthorised absences, how consistently schools record them and what action is taken when students repeatedly miss entire days.

The deterioration in attendance coincides with falling academic performance.

Maltese students scored below the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science in 2025, with results declining in all three subjects compared with 2022.

Only 52% reached the OECD’s baseline proficiency level in reading, meaning almost half could not demonstrate the minimum skills expected when interpreting and evaluating a moderately complex text. The equivalent shares reaching the baseline were 56% in mathematics and 63% in science.

The OECD also recorded weakening family engagement.

The proportion of students who said their parents or guardians discussed school-related problems with them at least once a week fell from 58% in 2022 to 46% in 2025.

The PISA assessment covered 3,680 students from 46 Maltese schools, representing an estimated 95% of the country’s 15-year-olds.