The lag in basic education in reading and mathematics grows

In an audit carried out on the National Strategy for the Safe Return to Public Education Schools, of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), it was discovered that basic education students, during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 cycles, had a decrease in learning levels, in the areas of reading and mathematics, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the audit carried out by the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), to verify the design and compliance with the Strategy, it was announced that a reduction of 20.9 percentage points was found in the learning of 848,709 primary school students (303,198 ) and secondary (545,511).

After applying evaluation instruments to students who returned to face-to-face classes during the 2021-2022 school year, it was discovered that, in reading, elementary students showed a reduction of 20.9 points, since it went from 70.6%, in second grade to 49.7 % in sixth. For its part, in mathematics it decreased 16.7 percentage points, since it went from 66.5% of correct answers in second grade to 49.8% in sixth.

The data show that the greatest decrease in learning occurred in the fifth grade of primary education.

On the other hand, in the transition between primary and secondary education, in what refers to reading, the reduction percentage was 6.7 percentage points, since it went from 49.7 to 43% in the number of correct answers; in mathematics it went from 49.8% to 48 percent.

The ASF discovered, in turn, that students, already at the secondary level, had an increase of 4.1 percentage points in the subject of reading, going from 43% of correct answers in the test, in first grade, to 47.1% in third grade; this increase did not happen in the area of ​​mathematics, here there was a reduction of 8.2 percentage points, first-year students registered 48% of correct answers and third-year students registered 39.8 percent.

Sanitary conditions

In the field of basic educational and health infrastructure for a safe return to classes, the results showed that 50.7% of schools, in 30 entities in the country, had basic conditions for returning to classrooms.

During the 2020-2021 cycle, of the 223,855 registered educational centers, only 113,594 returned to face-to-face classes.

The highest supervisory body reported that of the more than 113,000 schools that returned in person, 51,019 (44.9%) met the 10 sanitary conditions established by the Guide for the Responsible and Orderly Return to Schools.

The ASF announced that in 62,575 schools (55.1%) the sanitary conditions for the return to face-to-face classes were not guaranteed.

politica@eleconomista.mx