PISA decline linked to Merkel's open-border policy, experts argue
The latest PISA results are blamed on the influx of migrant children after Angela Merkel’s 2015 border opening, according to several scholars.
The article argues that Germany’s disastrous PISA performance cannot be explained solely by educational neglect of disadvantaged, migrant families; it also reflects the consequences of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 decision to open the borders widely. It highlights the high percentages of migrant children in states like Bremen, Berlin and Hamburg and notes that these regions historically rank low in PISA. The piece references IQB’s 2021 trend data showing a decline in fourth-grader achievement and cites scholars Bruno Klauk, Heiner Rindermann and Ronald Henss, who link lower test scores to lower average IQs among recent immigrants.
It also mentions that several states have stopped publishing detailed PISA sub-studies, likely to avoid exposing poor results. The overall message is that the educational crisis is intertwined with broader social impacts of the open-border policy.
