Overview

• INVALSI 2025 results show Italian and mathematics proficiency falling to post-COVID lows, with just over half of candidates reaching sufficient levels in Italian and fewer than half in mathematics
• Italy’s school dropout rate dropped below 10 percent for the first time in 2024 and may already have fallen to 8.3 percent according to Ministry of Education projections
• Since 2019, fourth graders’ A2 reading scores have increased by nine points and listening by 16 points, and 85–90 percent of second-year secondary students demonstrate strong digital literacy
• Regional disparities persist, with fewer than half of students in Lazio, Campania and Calabria achieving math proficiency compared with nearly 70 percent in northwest Italy
• Three Veneto students have staged Maturità oral boycotts to protest evaluation practices, prompting Valditara to announce automatic failure and year-long repetition for future non-participants