• Transfer Student Assistance
  • Securing Records
  • Understanding Documents
  • Placement
  • Grades 1 - 6
  • Grades 7 - 9
  • Grades 10 - 12
• Education in Mexico
  • Overview
  • Pre-School
  • Grades 1 - 6
  • Grades 7 - 9
  • Grades 10 - 12
  • Other Schooling
• Cultural Differences
  • Differences
  • Suggestions for Success
• About Mexico
  • Geography and People
  • Traditions and Culture
• Resources
  • Links
  • Abbreviations and Acronyms
  • Sources Consulted
• Index
• About This CD
• Welcome Page

Elementary Policies in Mexico

The following is a summary of the policies in effect during school year 1999 - 2000.

• The school year is 200 days.
• Class periods for General and Technical Secondary are usually 50 minutes in length.
• Students take 11 subjects the first year, 12 during the second, and 11 the third year, UNLESS the student is enrolled in Technical Secondary (Secundaria Técnica), a Workers’ School, or a non-formal institution, such as a Center for Basic Education.
• Students enrolled in Technical Secondary (Secundaria Técnica) follow the same curriculum as students enrolled in General Secondary (Secundaria General), plus eight or more hours a week in the vocational program in subject areas such as drafting, clothing, accounting, or secretarial skills, automobile mechanics, or computers.
• Beginning school year 2000-2001, Civics and Ethics (Formación Cívica y Ética) replaced Educational Orientation (Orientación Educativa) in the Third Grade.
• The Vocational Education classes depend upon the school.
• In many states, the Optional Subject taught during the third year is History and Geography of the state.
• Report cards are issued five times during the school term: at the end of October, December, February, April, and during the last two weeks of the school year.
• The “partial,” bimonthly grades range from 5 (not passing) to 10, and are written as whole numbers.
• The final grade for each subject is obtained by adding the partial grades and dividing by five, this being the number of partial grades. The result must be expressed as a whole number and a decimal, which should not be rounded.
• The student passes a subject if he or she earns a final grade equal to or greater than 6.
• The annual general average is calculated by adding the final grades of all subjects and dividing by the number of subjects (11 for First Grade, 12 for Second Grade, and 11 for Third Grade). This average must be expressed in numbers and words, as a whole number and a decimal, which should not be rounded. Ex: 7.5 - SIETE PUNTO CINCO. If a student has not passed all of the classes, the annual general average will not appear on the last report card. The spaces will be cancelled with a diagonal line.
• On the report cards for students who are enrolled in Workers’ Schools (Escuelas para Trabajadores), the spaces for grades in Physical Education (Educación Física) and Vocational Education (Educación Tecnológica) will be marked with an “x,” and the space for the Vocational Education key (la clave de Educación Tecnológica) will be marked with three asterisks. The final average will be calculated by dividing by the smaller number of classes: nine for the first grade, 10 for second grade, and nine for third grade.
• Students enrolled in Workers’ Schools (Escuelas para Trabajadores), may receive credit through examination for up to three subjects during each grading period.
• For regular promotion to the next grade level, the student must pass all subjects in the curriculum.
• The student who has failed more than five subjects is retained and will have to repeat the entire school year.
• The student who fails up to five subjects may earn a passing grade through “extraordinary” examinations (one for each subject area), which must be taken during the official periods of “regularization” in August and September.
• If the student has passed all but one or two “extraordinary” examinations by the end of the official period of “regularization” in September, he or she may enroll in the next grade level. He or she will continue taking the “extraordinary” examinations during the official periods in August, September, and February.
• If by the end of the official period for “extraordinary” examinations in September the student still has not passed more than two subjects, he or she may chose “temporary retention,” which means that he or she does not enroll for the current school year, but continues taking the “extraordinary examinations.” If by the following school term the student still has not passed more than two subjects, he or she will have to repeat the grade level.
• Students must pass every subject in the three year secondary curriculum to earn a Certificate, which is the equivalent of a diploma.
• The Certification of Partial Studies (Certificación de Estudios Parciales) serves as a transcript for students who have not completed the three year Secondary Program of Studies. The State Secretariat of Education issues the report.
• The curriculum for the secondary schools operated by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM), is somewhat different.
• A suggested equivalent grading scale follows. It forms part of the Transfer Document for [the] Binational Student, intended for students transferring between schools in Mexico and the United States.