EscucharSAN JOSE - They have no essay-writing skills, don't know how to reason using logic or mathematics, and lack the knowledge to distinguish the logical order of sentences. According to a study done by the Institute of Investigations for the Improvement of Costa Rican Education (IIMEC in Spanish) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), this is the typical profile of primary students in Costa Rica today.
According to the IIMEC's analysis, the academic level in both public and private primary schools is ``very deficient''. This opinion is backed by data from the ``Technical Report on the Writing, Validation and Application of Exams to Measure Skills and Knowledge,'' done on a national level by the institute in October and November of last year. In this investigation, education experts measured the general knowledge level of 20,322 third and sixth graders, based on the official curricula of their institutions.
The report claimed that students of both levels passed the science examinations with the lowest grade, while only sixth graders passed the Spanish exam. The results for social studies and math did not reach an average of 60 percent (about a D-minus), which is the minimum grade for passing in primary schools.
Each student answered four different questionnaires, one for each of the main courses: mathematics, science, Spanish and social studies. The third grade students answered 30 questions which covered the knowledge of 10 different basic subjects and the sixth graders 42 questions covering 14 subjects for each of the aforementioned courses.
The study also evaluated the attitude the teachers have towards their jobs. Out of the 642 evaluated, 40.8 percent of the teachers manifested a negative attitude towards their profession.
For the coordinator of the investigation, Juan Manuel Esquivel, consultant to the World Bank in educational monitoring and evaluation; Eduardo Doryan, Minister of Public Education; and Víctor Buján, executive director of the national system of Scientific Costa Rican Schools, these figures and statements are ``alarming.''
``We have to take into consideration that these exams measured fundamental and basic skills and knowledge,'' added Esquivel.
The daily La Nación tried to contact Carlos Vindas, president of the National Teachers Association (ANDE in Spanish), and Edgar Campbell, president of the Syndicate of Workers for Costa Rican Education, (SEC in Spanish), but they did not return calls.
Recurring theme
Different studies of varying issues, proportions and time periods (ranging from 1986 to 1996), throw light on many worries about the future of Costa Rica:
l Public schools tend to have a lower standard than private ones.
l The results for Spanish are have improved since the 1980s.
l The more years of schooling a student has, the worse his grades become.
l Math skills have continued to decrease since the 1980s.
Buján stated that the results reveal a national tragedy, and ``guarantee that dependency, poverty and underdevelopment will be present (in the country's future).''
Many teachers consulted by La Nación blamed the low standard on overcrammed curricula, excessive work for teachers, irresponsible children, and careless parents.
For Doryan, the lack of textbooks for over a decade, and the lack of funding both joined in worsening the situation. He assured however, that his ministry is currently working on corrective measures like ``the potential educational reform law that is currently being studied by Congress, the making of educational texts, and the recent approval of 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product to finance education.''
