The latest PISA results reveal persistent educational inequalities across the European Union, mirroring global trends. While the EU prides itself on its values of equality, the data underline a troubling reality: educational outcomes are becoming increasingly stratified, reflecting wider socio-economic divides. This article explores how market-driven reforms, gentrification, fragmented school choice systems and economic pressures have shaped education in the EU, exacerbating inequality despite its commitment to social cohesion.

The EU's educational divide: A PISA perspective 

While the EU outperforms the US in overall PISA rankings, the differences within and between member states are stark. Northern European countries such as Finland and Estonia consistently excel, while southern and eastern European countries lag behind. More critically, the gap between affluent and disadvantaged students has widened within countries. In Germany and France, for example, children from immigrant or low-income families score significantly lower than their peers, a trend exacerbated by tracking systems that channel students into differentiated pathways at an early stage. Even in high-performing Finland, pandemic-era disruptions have highlighted equity vulnerabilities.

Four forces shaping education inequality in the EU 

1. Standardised testing and pressure to perform 

Unlike the US, EU countries avoid high-stakes testing for teacher evaluation, but standardised assessments still influence policy. Britain's GCSEs and France's baccalauréat shape curricula, often prioritising rote learning over critical thinking. In Italy, the Invalsi tests have sparked debates about teaching to the test, while PISA-driven reforms in Spain focus on 'catching up' with Nordic peers, sometimes neglecting marginalised students. The EU's emphasis on digital and green skills risks further marginalising those without access to resources and appropriate education

2. Gentrification and urban polarisation

Gentrification in cities such as Berlin, Barcelona and Amsterdam has reshaped school demographics. Affluent families cluster in revitalised neighbourhoods, putting pressure on schools to meet their demands. Meanwhile, underfunded schools in less desirable areas struggle with overcrowding and resource gaps. EU social housing policies mitigate some displacement, but rarely address school segregation.

3. School choice and segregation

Sweden's voucher system, introduced in the 1990s, led to a proliferation of private schools, often located in affluent areas and criticised for cherry-picking students. Similarly, the separation of religious and public schools in the Netherlands perpetuates segregation. In Eastern Europe, privatised vocational tracks trap Roma students in low quality education. Even in egalitarian Finland, private tutoring centres in cities like Helsinki favour wealthier families. These systems reproduce inequality under the guise of choice.

4. Economic austerity and social fragmentation

Post-2008 austerity measures have gutted education budgets in Greece, Spain and Italy, widening the gap between northern and southern Europe. Youth unemployment (around 25% in Spain) undermines the value of education for disadvantaged students. Meanwhile, refugee influxes (e.g. the 2015 crisis in Germany) are straining schools, with integration efforts uneven across the EU. Child poverty persists in Romania and Bulgaria, where UNICEF reports that 30% of children are at risk of exclusion.

The hidden costs of market logic

EU education reforms often mimic US-style competition, prioritising efficiency over equity. Sweden's voucher system, initially praised for its innovation, now faces a backlash for segregation and falling PISA scores. Funding for private schools in Italy is diverting resources from public schools, echoing the controversies surrounding charter schools in the US. The EU's push for digital literacy risks creating both a "technological and educational divide", where the lack of a conscious, innovative and creative use of digital technologies is a barrier to a participatory and responsible citizenship.

A way forward: Reclaiming education as a public good

Redefining success metrics 

Shifting from PISA rankings to holistic indicators: student well-being, inclusion and civic engagement. Finland's focus on collaborative learning and play offers a model, while Portugal's success in reducing dropout rates through community support shows alternative ways forward.

Tackling segregation

End tracking systems (e.g. Germany's tripartite schools) and invest in comprehensive education. Belgium's 'M-Decree' to promote inclusive education and France's Éducation Prioritaire zones target resources to disadvantaged schools, although implementation remains uneven.

Strengthen public funding

Reverse austerity cuts and channel EU recovery funds (e.g. NextGenerationEU) into teacher training, guidance and infrastructure. Denmark's investment in vocational education and Sweden's recent curbs on for-profit schools signal a return to public responsibility.

Tackling root causes

Link education policy to housing, health and labour market reforms. Barcelona's anti-gentrification policies and Vienna's social housing model show how integrated approaches stabilise communities.

The conclusion is clear: solidarity over competition

The EU's founding ideas of unity and inclusion are at odds with education reforms that are all about the market. To reduce differences in how well students do in school, policymakers must reject competition that makes everyone think that there is only one winner, and focus schools on being democratic spaces. The US shows that systems that focus on 'winners' will create 'losers'. The EU can avoid this by continuing to support social democracy. The choice is clear: do we keep education as a right for all, or risk breaking up the European project?

The lifelong shadow of school inequality

What 2025's 15-year-olds tell us about 2040's adults

The OECD's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) reveals a stark truth: gaps in literacy and numeracy at age 15 persist into adulthood, locking individuals into trajectories of limited opportunity. In the EU, adults with low PISA-level skills earn 20% less than high performers and are 3 times more likely to be unemployed. By 2040, today's 15-year-olds will be 30 – and will be the main workers dealing with the move to green energy, the impact of AI on the job market, and ageing populations. If things don't change, 1 in 4 EU adults in 2040 will not have basic maths skills, and this will be more common among people from marginalised communities.

Can Europe overcome these differences?

The EU's ability to answer this question depends on whether it treats education as something that is important for society, like healthcare or housing, or whether it sees it as something to be traded like any other commodity.

1. Invest in equity, not rankings. PISA 2025 results will signal whether reforms like Portugal's 70% reduction in early school leaving (2012-2022) can be scaled up across the EU. But progress requires measuring success beyond test scores - tracking adult outcomes such as pay equity, civic participation and digital inclusion.

2. Breaking the cycle of disadvantage. Finland's high PISA scores correlate with its 70% lower adult skills inequality compared to France. The difference? Universal access to teacher training, guidance and extracurricular activities - not privatisation.

3. Address the "skills time bomb". By 2040, 45 million EU workers could be displaced by automation. Without adequate schooling now, the burden will fall on low-skilled adults in Romania, Bulgaria and post-industrial regions - fuelling populism and distrust in institutions.

A call for intergenerational justice 

The fate of the 2025 PISA cohort is not inevitable. The EU's European Education Area 2025 initiative and NextGeneration EU funds offer tools to

• Reframe education as a lever for equity, measured by broad national and European indicators of well-being, inclusion and civic participation.

• End tracking in early adolescence, which entrenches inequality by segregating students into fixed tracks.

• Invest in upgrading schools in high-poverty areas, prioritising teacher training, infrastructure and wraparound services for students.

• Legislate equity by linking education funding to inclusive outcomes, such as closing literacy gaps and reducing dropout rates in underserved communities.

As the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu warned, "education is the key to social reproduction". If Europe fails to democratise education quality, it will replicate today's inequalities for generations to come - jeopardising not only economic growth but the very idea of a united Europe.