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 Vallarta Living | July 2005 
Student Scores Getting Worse
 Nurit Martínez Carballo - El Universal
| | While five pass entrance exam with flying colors, most students scored poorly. |
Five students from across the capital recently tied for the highest score on the high school entrance exam in Mexico City's metropolitan area. For the first time in the exam's 10 years of existence, each of the five students answered correctly 123 out of 128 questions.
However, these students were the exception. Even of those with passing scores, the majority answered barely half of the questions correctly. Of the 288,000 students who took the test, 4, 981 failed meaning they answered less than 31 of the 128 questions correctly. Overall, the incoming class scored four points lower than last year's average.
The exam determines placement of students in public high schools affiliated with institutions such as the National Autonomous University (UNAM) and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN). When registering for the exam, students identify their first choice of schools. Acceptance depends on exam scores and available slots. This year only 93,042 of the test takers were accepted into their priority school.
Diana Nallely Rivera Rivera stands out as the only girl of the five highest scorers. Her combined test scores and grade point average of 9.9 out of ten place her at the top of the list. She attributes her success to the advice of her father, a construction worker who told her that getting an education would open doors for her.
"He always told us he would do everything possible so my brothers and I could study," she said.
In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, the five top students agreed that the future of Mexico depends on ensuring access to education for low-income youth like themselves.
One of the students, Marco Antonio Sánchez Ramírez, said that more investment in schools is needed "because there are lots of kids who want to do well, but don't have the opportunity." Another student, Carlos Ismael Romero Nava, is all too familiar with the difficulties of getting a degree. He watched as two of his older brothers opted for vocational schools since they couldn't get into public high schools. However, the income earned by his mother as an acupuncturist and his father selling newspapers was insufficient to pay tuition, and both boys had to drop out.
The high exam scores of these students assures access into public schools, increasing their chances of reaching graduation. |
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