Overview
- Officials announced on July 24 that an 'incidencia técnica' has made Catalonia's PISA 2025 sample non‑representative and therefore not comparable with past cycles or other regions.
- Of the 2,545 fifteen‑year‑olds selected in 51 schools, 591 (23.2%) were exempted from PISA for reasons including cognitive or behavioral needs and limited language proficiency, far above the OECD's 5% maximum for valid samples.
- The OECD will exclude a standalone Catalan annex from its international PISA report, while Catalonia will still publish its local scores that cannot be used for international or longitudinal comparison.
- The Catalan Departament has opened formal 'diligencias informativas' and created a coordination and evaluation commission to clarify what went wrong and to set stricter protocols for future tests.
- The announcement has provoked sharp criticism from unions, school directors and opposition parties over oversight and the timing of disclosure, while President Salvador Illa publicly backed Consellera Esther Niubó and she is scheduled to explain the case to lawmakers.