LA Times Reports on State of Urban Mexican Schools

In Mexico's Schools Can't Keep Up the LA Times reports on the status of the Mexican school system, specifically focusing on Tijuana. Poor results on the PISA math exam for 9th graders (last on the list of 28 participating OECD countries) and a 10% middle school drop out rate (for those students who complete elementary school) are bringing these issues to the forefront of the social conscience. Some of the stated causes are the high rates of violence and poverty and the inability of an inefficient educational infrastructure to keep pace with housing growth. The Mexican government is responding with telesecondaria--video-enabled distance learning--that they claim, along with the World Bank, is just as effective as traditional schools. But the response: "All we ask is that the government send us certified teachers ... We [parents] will do the rest."