Haredi Girls Education: PISA Results Show Strong Performance

While Israel's general education system experienced a sharp decline in the latest international PISA assessments, a striking trend has emerged in the country's Haredi sector: girls in ultra-Orthodox seminaries achieved notably strong results, surpassing their counterparts in state schools across key measures.

According to data released with the 2025 PISA results, Haredi seminary students averaged 465 points in reading literacy, compared to just 427 points among girls in state schools. The 38-point gap represents a significant advantage for the Haredi sector, which maintained stable performance even as national scores dropped.

Israel's overall education picture reveals a troubling pattern: average scores fell to 436 points in reading, 433 in mathematics, and 442 in science, a dramatic decline representing nearly two years of learning. Approximately 46% of Israeli students now score below baseline proficiency in mathematics, with 41% falling short in reading.

Yet while national figures raise serious concerns, the Haredi education system tells a different story. Even the longstanding mathematics gap has been eliminated entirely, with Haredi girls now scoring 9 points higher than their state school peers in the current cycle. In science, the groups have reached parity.

Rabbi Eliezer Sorotzkin, director-general of Ma'ayan HaChinuch HaAtzmai—the independent Haredi education network—sent a letter commending school principals and teaching staff following the results. He attributed the unprecedented achievements to educators' extraordinary dedication, uncompromising pedagogical professionalism, and the social and values-based resilience that Haredi institutions provide students even during periods of national crisis and upheaval.

The results align with broader trends showing stronger performance in Haredi education in recent years. Nearly 19,000 students from Haredi educational backgrounds currently study in Israeli higher education institutions, with approximately 67,000 having already graduated and entered the workforce. Central Bureau of Statistics data indicates that Haredi education graduates with academic degrees integrate into employment at higher rates and earn significantly higher incomes than their peers without degrees.

Additionally, six Haredi educational institutions in Beit Shemesh recently joined an unprecedented initiative providing students with advanced scientific and technological tools through collaboration with the Davidson Institute of Science Education, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Biet Shemesh municipality (Yossi Aloni / Flash90)

The strong performance of Haredi girls in PISA assessments demonstrates that pedagogical dedication, commitment to values, and social cohesion can drive educational excellence—even when other education systems face significant challenges.