Education Minister Jason Clare has called for a sweeping "digital detox" in Australian schools after the latest international student assessment results revealed that maths and reading scores among 15-year-olds have fallen to their lowest levels ever recorded. The findings, drawn from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), have prompted the minister to flag urgent discussions with state and territory counterparts in the coming weeks.
Worst-Ever Results in Maths and Reading
The PISA data paints a stark picture of long-term academic decline in Australia. Reading scores have dropped to their lowest point on record, with today's students performing roughly two years behind where students stood in 2000. Maths results have fared even worse — students are now more than two years behind the benchmark recorded in 2003, also an all-time low.
Despite the alarming trend, Australia remains above the OECD average overall, but the continued downward trajectory has sparked concern at the highest levels of government.
Clare Blames Screen Time and Digital Distraction
Jason Clare was pointed in identifying the culprit. He argued that increased use of laptops and tablets in classrooms — not just mobile phones — is directly linked to the declining results, citing evidence that the more time students spend in front of screens, the lower their academic performance tends to be.
"The more time they spend in front of a laptop or tablet, the lower their results are," Clare said. "I think that tells us that we need a digital detox in our schools."
The minister stressed that the problem goes beyond devices being used for entertainment or distraction, noting that technology has become embedded in both home and school environments in a way that previous generations never experienced. "When we were at school there was a computer room. Now these things are everywhere at home and at school," he said, adding that devices are "sometimes used just for entertainment as well, or as a distraction in the classroom."
The PISA report itself supports these concerns on a global scale — 28 per cent of students across OECD countries reported that classmates were distracted by digital devices during most or every science class.
A Global Problem Prompting Global Responses
Clare noted that Australia is far from alone in confronting this challenge. He pointed to moves by New York authorities to ban artificial intelligence tools from primary schools, and to guidance from the United States federal administration urging schools to use technology purposefully rather than continuously.
Closer to home, Victoria has announced plans to cap daily screen time at 90 minutes in primary schools and two hours in high schools — a move that signals growing willingness among state governments to act on the issue.
The PISA findings also raised broader concerns about students' digital literacy. Fewer than half of students across OECD countries demonstrated both a willingness to verify the credibility of information sources and a tendency to trust scientific evidence over common sense — a worrying signal about young people's susceptibility to misinformation. Meanwhile, 46 per cent of students in OECD countries reported using AI chatbots weekly or more to assist with learning, though the OECD noted the relationship between AI use and academic performance is complex, with outcomes varying depending on how students apply the technology.
This conversation about technology's role in schools is part of a wider debate about what students need in the modern classroom, with educators and policymakers also grappling with social influences on young people's development — an issue explored in discussions about how schools should tackle harmful online cultures.
What Happens Next
Clare confirmed he would raise the digital detox push with state and territory education ministers at their upcoming meeting. With mounting evidence and political pressure building, a coordinated national response to screen time in Australian classrooms looks increasingly likely — though the form it will take remains to be determined.
"There's plenty of evidence here for us to act," Clare said.
