Panama students “devastating” results in international evaluation
Panamanian students got what has been described as a devastating result in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) It ranked 71st out of 77.
According to this world reference educational test, Panama is ranked 71 out of 77 countries evaluated, only above Indonesia, Morocco, Lebanon, Kosovo, Dominican Republic, and the Philippines.
After a 9-year break, 15-year-old students from Panama were re-examined last year about their knowledge and skills in math, science and reading comprehension.
The portrait of Panamanian education left by the 2018 results corresponding to 2018, presented simultaneously on several continents on Tuesday, is devastating reports La Prensa.
Panama is well below the middle zone both in reading and understanding a written text – where the strongest are Estonia and Canada – and in mathematics and science, subjects dominated by China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
According to the data, 64% of 15-year-old Panamanian students cannot “identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find information based on explicit criteria, nor can they reflect on the purpose and form of the texts when it explicitly indicates that they do so ”.
And 34% hardly reach this minimum of understanding. That is to say, of every ten students, more than six do not understand what they read. In contrast, 77% of the students in the countries that make up the OECD, trained for this basic function. In fact, the Panamanian score is 377 points (the average is 487), which places the country in 63rd place. Below are only Indonesia, Morocco, Lebanon, Kosovo, Dominican Republic and the Philippines.
As for the evaluation in science, students in Panama who are competent in drawing some conclusions from different data sources and can describe and explain in part simple causal relationships only around 29%.
The OECD average is 78%. Panama has obtained a result of 365 points when the average of the OECD countries is 489.
The panorama in mathematics is much worse. 81% of students do not know how to answer a simple calculation, such as comparing the total distance through two alternative routes or converting prices to a different currency. In the world, only 24% reach this level. In total, Panama has scored 353 points when the average is 489. Only students from the Philippines and the Dominican Republic are in a lower stage.
It is the second time that Panama participated in the exam that assesses the extent to which students close to the end of compulsory education have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary for full participation in the knowledge society.
The test is conducted every three years and serves governments and schools as a guide to improve students’ academic skills.
