Belgian Teachers Not Surprised by PISA Vocabulary Decline

Flemish teachers say they are far from surprised by the latest PISA results showing continued declines in student performance across reading, mathematics, and science. Educators report that students increasingly lack basic vocabulary and shared cultural knowledge, with some no longer recognizing common Dutch words like ‘petanque’ (a traditional game) or ‘oever’ (riverbank). The new data, released by the OECD on September 8, marks the seventh consecutive decline for Flemish 15-year-olds and confirms what many in the classroom have witnessed for years.

A Decline Years in the Making

The PISA 2025 assessment, which tested nearly 4,000 Flemish students alongside peers from 91 participating countries and regions, paints a stark picture. According to VRT NWS, 29.4 percent of Flemish 15-year-olds fail to reach the basic reading level, while 25.6 percent fall short in mathematics and 22.6 percent in science. In vocational education, the situation is particularly acute, with three-quarters of students unable to achieve basic reading proficiency.

The erosion of top performers is equally striking. In 2003, one in three Flemish students ranked as a top performer in mathematics; today, only one in nine achieves that distinction. Since 2003, Flemish students have lost 64 PISA points in mathematics and 52 points in reading, with 12 and 16 additional points lost since 2022 alone.

Teachers on the Front Lines

For educators like Davy Buntinx, a mathematics teacher at KOBOS secondary school in Kapelle-op-den-Bos, these results confirm what he has observed throughout his 15-year career. “Prior knowledge and certain skills have significantly declined compared to 15 years ago, when I started as a teacher,” Buntinx told VRT NWS. He points to a shift in pedagogical approach as a key factor: “The focus is now on understanding rather than applying. Students can explain very well why the Pythagorean theorem is interesting, but actually applying it is much harder.”

The vocabulary gap has become a daily classroom reality. “We’ve used a problem with the word ‘petanque’ for 10 years,” Buntinx noted. “Today we first have to explain what that game is.” He recounted how two students recently asked him what a ‘riverbank’ was in a word problem about a river. “That makes it very difficult to build problems.”

Buntinx attributes this cultural and linguistic erosion partly to the fragmentation of shared media experiences. “We no longer all watch the same TV show on Sunday evenings,” he observed. “Everyone has an algorithm on their smartphone that pre-digests information.”

The Challenge of Mixed-Ability Classrooms

Teachers also point to structural reforms that have created unprecedented diversity within individual classrooms. Ellen, a teacher from Mechelen with more than two decades of experience, described the situation vividly: “Many students end up in a class where the spread between the strongest and weakest resembles gymnastics at the highest level.” The introduction of the ‘broad first grade’ placed students of all ability levels together in the first two years of secondary school, creating what some educators describe as a leveling-down effect.

Carl, a veteran teacher from Veldegem, argues that the system has lost sight of high-achieving students. “A lot is done for weaker students, but we lose sight of strong students,” he said. “There is no healthy competition anymore. If a strong student finds it too easy, they eventually lose the motivation to excel.”

Experienced Voices Echo the Concern

Long-serving teachers interviewed by HLN echo these observations. Els Vanlommel, a mathematics teacher for 30 years at Heilig Hart van Maria in Berlaar, believes the shift away from core knowledge has been damaging. “Investing in well-being is important, but it has been done at the expense of knowledge, while the two can go perfectly together,” she said. “The attitude in education has also become too lax, I notice that in what we tolerate in behavior and in our deliberation criteria.”

Greet Engelbeen, who has taught English and geography for 31 years at Moretus Ekeren, sees vocabulary decline across all student demographics. “Migration background or not: my students have a less extensive vocabulary than before,” she told HLN. “That also has to do with social media use and the hours they spend watching English-language influencers on YouTube.”

Expert Analysis: A Generation Lost

Education experts describe the scale of the decline in stark terms. Cognitive psychologist Wouter Duyck of KU Leuven told HLN that “a 15-year-old today can do what a 13.5-year-old could do in 2003.” He added: “Today the average student is a grade repeater. That is intense.”

Education economist Kristof De Witte calculated the human cost: compared to 2003, Flanders is missing nearly 16,000 mathematics prodigies and more than 8,500 reading talents in a single cohort of 15-year-olds. “Those students could have become doctors or engineers if they had been lifted over a higher bar,” Duyck warned. “That is a threat to our prosperity, just as industry is begging for brains.”

Policy Response and the Road Ahead

Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir has called the results “shameful,” particularly the fact that three-quarters of vocational education students cannot read at a basic level. “Not only because we are a knowledge economy,” she said, “but also because that lack of basic skills affects their personal happiness and health.”

Education networks have responded with concern tempered by cautious hope. Bruno Vanobbergen of Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen insisted that “we may and cannot wait for new policy frameworks or major reforms to turn the tide. Our schools today need support to strengthen basic skills and fulfill high expectations for ALL students.” The networks point to new knowledge-rich minimum goals for primary education as a positive step, though they acknowledge results will take time to materialize.

The OECD’s global findings contextualize but do not excuse Flanders’ trajectory. Across OECD countries, reading scores fell by 28 points between 2015 and 2025, the steepest decline ever recorded, as Euronews reported. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann noted that “the most successful education systems focus on fewer areas in greater depth, invest in teachers, engage parents and provide targeted support for the students and schools that need it the most.”

For teachers like Buntinx, the path forward requires smaller classes and renewed focus on fundamentals. “When I stand before a class of 25, I teach a group,” he said. “With a class of 18, I see individuals with their own needs and talents.” As Flanders confronts its seventh consecutive decline, the voices from the classroom suggest that meaningful change will require not just policy shifts, but a fundamental reassessment of what education should prioritize.