Regional education system evidences "sustained" improvement, says Avelino Meneses
The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stated today at the Legislative Assembly in Horta that "the truth is only one" in education: the "sustained" improvement of the regional education system.
Avelino Meneses spoke during a debate on the school performance of Azorean students in comparison with the national and European reality, considering that the opposition's proclaimed "failure" of the regional education system is a "fabrication."
"The evidence is in the accomplishment, with reasonable anticipation," of the goals set for 2020-2021 under ProSucesso - Azores for Education, a programme aimed at promoting school success, namely in the improvement of progression rates, said the Regional Secretary.
From 2013-2014, before the implementation of ProSuccesso, and until the 2018-2019 school year, these rates rose in elementary education from 87 to 94%, in middle school from 82 to 93%, in the junior high school from 77 to 88% and in secondary education from 71 to 80%, stressed Avelino Meneses.
Overall, the progression rate for basic and secondary education is currently at 90%, compared to 76% in 1996, and the non-progression rate for basic and secondary education, which is now less than 10%, was over 21% in 1996.
According to the Regional Secretary, educational progress "is not only evident in internal evaluation, but also in external evaluation."
In the final 9th form as well as in the national secondary education exams, the “constant increase” of regional averages and the “constant convergence” with national averages are quite evident, noted Avelino Meneses.
Accordingly, he pointed out that the regional average in the Portuguese exam was at 42% in 2012, while it stood at 56% in 2019. As for Maths exam, the average increase from 38 to 45% in the same period.
The Secretary for Education also mentioned that the distance from the regional average to the national average in the Portuguese exam was at 11% in 2012 and now it is at 4% in 2019. In the case of the Maths exam, the distance decreased from 15% to less than 10% in the same period.
Avelino Meneses considered that improving results in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and in other evaluation systems “requires investment, but not money.”
In this context, the government official mentioned that, after the conclusion of the school network, the Regional Secretariat for Education and Culture will focus on "human resources, "not so much in its increase" but "in the excellence of its training."