As we returned to the school year, my husband and I are having an ongoing conversation: is private school worth it? For the first time in the last four years, we are not pleased with the academic outcome of our children, and as inflation and living costs continue to rise, we wonder if we wouldn’t be — if not better off, at least getting the same outcome — at a more reasonable fee.
And just this week the PISA report landed fresh on our hands.
Spain is bad. Valencia is worse.
You may find the terrifying truth of where Spain lands here, spoiler alert: below both the OECD and EU averages. In science — this cycle’s focus subject — Spain scored 477 against an OECD average of 482 and an EU average of 481, and only 28% of students hit the baseline level needed to function day-to-day.
But let’s zoom in on Valencia.
It turns out that Valencia is one of the lowest-performing regions in the country — ahead of only Ceuta and Melilla in science and maths, and below the national average across the board:
- Reading: 424 (vs. 451 national average, 461 OECD) — 15th of 18 regions
- Science: 450 (vs. 477 national, 482 OECD) — 16th of 18
- Maths: 435 (vs. 457 national, 469 OECD) — 16th of 18
I’m not sure how many local parents are actually aware of this data. I’m assuming not that many since I haven’t seen any public demonstration of outrage in the streets, as I believe it should have been the normal reaction here.
Blame, but no plan
And what does the Conselleria have to say about this, after all, they make the education laws our children are taught by? Well, as usual in Spanish politics, the regional government’s response, so far, has been to assign blame elsewhere rather than announce a plan. Consell spokesperson Miguel Barrachina called the results “pésimos” (terrible) but pinned them on the national LOMLOE education reform and on the previous Botànic coalition government, which ran the Generalitat from 2015 to 2023 — not on the current PP–Vox administration.
What hasn’t materialised yet is a concrete regional response. Education minister Carmen Ortí was reportedly travelling to Madrid to take part in the national discussion of the results when the report landed, and the Consell says only that it will “continue studying measures” (eyeroll) to address the gaps in maths and reading — no timeline, no specifics, as of this writing.
So, private school it is…
“Well, that is certainly for the public school, right? My kid goes to a fancy international school.” Actually, PISA 2025 complicates the easy assumption that private buys you better outcomes. It does — but not for the reason most parents think.
Nationally, private schools do score higher in raw PISA results. But once the OECD adjusts for students’ socioeconomic and cultural background, that gap doesn’t just narrow — it flips, subtly, in favour of public schools. The apparent advantage of private education is, in large part, a story about who’s sitting in the classroom, not what’s being taught in it.
And I think deep inside myself I knew this, but the data is just a cold slap in the face.
The honest takeaway for a parent choosing a school isn’t “public schools are secretly better.” Nobody gets to enrol their child in the socioeconomically-adjusted version of a school — you enrol in the real one, with its real catchment, real repetition rates, and real resourcing. What it tells you is narrower but still useful: you’re often paying for a wealthier, more stable peer group — not necessarily better teaching. Worth knowing before you assume the fee buys pedagogy.
How am I solving this nightmare as a parent? I can’t take my kids to study in those high-performance countries (Estonia, Japan, Korea…) so here I’m sitting most afternoons after school with my kids to reinforce their academic skills to the best of my ability. There is a lot of fighting, complaints, and not-very-pedagogical screams, but we are getting there. What other options do I have? If you’ve found something that works, I’d genuinely like to hear it.
