The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stated at the Legislative Assembly in Horta that the Azores, regardless of school rankings, have a "strategy" to promote school success with "measurable and encouraging" results.
Speaking during an interpellation to the Regional Government about the results achieved by Azorean schools in the 2017/2018 school year, Avelino Meneses stated that Government's strategy is based on ProSucesso - Azores for Education.
The programme for the promotion of school success - ProSucesso, whose implementation began in 2015/2016, will end in the 2025/2026 school year, after an interim evaluation to be carried out in 2020/2021.
In 2017/2018, the Azores reached the goals set for 2020/202 with "considerable anticipation." Progression rates in Basic Education rose from 73% to 89% and in Secondary Education grew from 66% to 74%. Moreover, preschool attendance increased from 68 to 80%, stated Avelino Meneses.
For the Regional Secretary, there are "many projects under the ProSucesso - Azores for Education with various degrees of space intervention and educational success." In this regard, he highlighted "Prof DA," a project led by Ricardo Teixeira (University of the Azores) that has "revolutionised the teaching of Mathematics in elementary and middle school.
In fact, the results achieved at elementary school level focus on the reduction of academic underachievement. According to Avelino Meneses, this is "quite noticeable" in the decreased awarding of insufficient and sufficient grades and increased awarding of "good" and "very good" grades. In turn, the results achieved at middle school level focus on the reduction in the awarding of 1 and 2 points (poor and insufficient) and the increased awarding of 3, 4 and 5 points (sufficient, good and very good).
Avelino Meneses added that there are factors contributing to the achievement of these "good indicators," namely the "closer relation" established between the department of education and schools by educational support teams.
The Secretary for Education also highlighted the progress in the identification of learning difficulties as it allows the development of educational action plans that are "better suited to priority goals" and the commitment of school boards and ProSucesso teams to the teaching/learning relation "for the improvement of school results."
The coordination of leaderships, teachers' meetings and teachers were other aspects pointed out in the "identification" of difficulties that "may pose risk to non-progression," added the government official.
The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture considered that "these achievements" are not reflected in the rankings because the 9th form tests and Secondary School exams "have yet to reflect" ProSucesso policies, which "have only begun to be implemented on systematic basis" in the Junior High School level.
In the context of innovative education projects of wider scope, Avelino Meneses also highlighted the implementation of the community intervention plans, namely the "School, Family, Community" project. It aims to tackle "school failure inside and outside the classroom and inside and outside school establishments in light of the principle that institutions, such as schools, are the reflection of surrounding realities."
The Regional Secretary also stressed that rankings should be analysed "with rigour and responsibility" because, rather than "establishing hierarchies for schools, we must understand the respective context."