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The Education Secretary has pledged reforms to the country’s curriculum in the wake of an international schools survey showing “the poorest set of results that Scotland has achieved”.

Keir Bloomer, chairman of the Commission on School Reform, branded the results of the latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) as “very disappointing”.

His comments came as Lindsay Paterson, professor of education at the University of Edinburgh, said “one lesson for Scotland” in the results is that it should “copy England”.

Writing in The Scotsman, Prof Paterson said: “Under various governments, England has come to stress the importance of knowledge that is structured into subjects mathematics, English, the sciences, the social subjects, etc.”

But he added that “Scotland has neglected all this”.

Meanwhile Dr Bloomer told BBC Radio Scotland: “Since Pisa began to be introduced in the year 2000, this is the poorest set of results that Scotland has achieved.”

The expert added that Scotland has “seen a steady decline over the years in all three of the main areas which it tests”.

He said while Scotland showed an improvement in science, it is still “far behind where we were when the Pisa testing started”.

The latest Pisa statistics for Scotland showed performance in science, mathematics and reading did not change significantly between 2022 and 2025.

While a more longer term decline in performance did not continue, it found Scotland was significantly below earlier results.

The data also appeared to show English pupils ahead of the other nations in the UK in terms of standards in reading, maths and science.

Education Secretary Mairi McAllan said “substantial work is happening now” in terms of improving Scotland’s curriculum.

She said she is “clear-eyed” about the latest Pisa results, saying while the results “indicate success in our education system” they also “indicate change is required”.

The minister vowed: “That reform is under way and I intend to take it forward fulsomely.”

The commitment came despite the Education Secretary saying the latest data showed “Scotland enjoys an internationally competitive position”.

She noted that for reading, the Pisa scores put Scotland ahead of countries such as Northern Ireland, Finland, Italy and Wales, while for science Scotland was ranked above Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Wales.

However Ms McAllan added: “I don’t deny for a second I want to see improvement against Pisa results and I want to assure listeners there is substantial work under way just now to change our curriculum in Scotland.”

Pledging to “pursue that vigorously”, she said the changes will see the “largest reform” of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence since it was introduced in 2010.

Ms McAllan continued: “I intend to be a reforming Education Secretary and I will drive those reforms forward.

“They are about clarifying the role of knowledge in our curriculum, clarifying the progression a young person ought to make through the curriculum.

“I will do all of that absolutely fulsomely, and I believe it is necessary, but equally I will not do it to the exclusion of everything else that makes our education system good for our young people, including those other curricular areas like problem solving, moral education, creative expression.

“I believe they are all important and my ultimate goal is that young people will enter our education system and be able to achieve both academic excellence and vocational excellences that sets them up well for life.”