**Abstract**

In recent years, there is a natural need to look for new ways to analyze and process data from different sources. One of these ways is through data analysis methods. Thus, given the importance of making academic diagnoses, this paper presents the academic achievement analysis, in Language and Communication and Mathematics, of students from autonomous, public and private schools of Higher-Middle Education in Mexico through data analysis methods. Data analyzed were registers of the National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning, which puts into operation the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education in coordination with the Secretariat of Public Education, Mexico. A variety of academic achievements was observed, highlighting Insufficient and Elementary in the evaluated population, while a small number reached acceptable achievements, that is, Satisfactory and Outstanding. This contrasts a notable difference between the levels reached by students, which leads them to delay or stop their university studies because they obtain a completion certificate of studies without having the necessary knowledge to pass the entrance examination in the universities.

**Keywords:** academic achievement, data analysis, higher-middle education, PLANEA, secretariat of public education

#### **1. Introduction**

Nowadays, education is one of the key pillars for the social and economic development of a country. Students who currently attend compulsory education, such as primary, secondary and higher-middle school, in future will be responsible for becoming the labor and economic force of a region and, therefore, of a country [1]. However, in order to obtain satisfactory results, quality education is needed; which is achieved through educational systems that have a decisive role in the improvement of educational quality [2]. An educational system could be made up of the academic training of teachers, the educational contents found in the plans and study programs, and the daily life of schools.

Thus, as academic achievement is an important measurement parameter on the education quality, provided by educational systems, there is a need to know to what extent students achieve essential learning in different domains at the end of each educational level, with the purpose of making a diagnosis of the performance and knowledge achieved by students. In the specific case of Higher-Middle Education, according to [3], there are cases of students who at the end of their studies obtain the completion certificate without having the minimum knowledge necessary to subsequently pass the entrance exams in universities of the country; bringing as a consequence that they delay or stop their university studies.

Given this, make diagnoses about the necessary knowledge acquired by students in school age is important because through these could be articulated strategies to improve the academic level and ensure homogeneous conditions to students for the continuation of a career university [4]. Precisely, currently, one of these diagnoses is made through the National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning (PLANEA, for its acronym in Spanish) in Higher-Middle Education, which puts into operation the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education (INEE, for its acronym in Spanish) in coordination with the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP, for its acronym in Spanish) of Mexico. PLANEA has as its main purpose to know the extent to which students manage to master a set of essential subjects at different times of their compulsory education [5]. In addition, the results offered by PLANEA aim to improve education based on the following actions [4, 6]:


On the other hand, at present, due to the growth of data collection and the evolution of computing power, information is stored in different sources. This allows for using historical data to explain the past, understand the present and predict future situations [1]. Therefore, there is an increasing need to look for new ways to analyze and process existing data sources to obtain useful information and knowledge. However, the data volume, which these sources reach, is often a limitation for analysis of manual way. Therefore, specialized technologies have been developed to process and obtain information of interest with the purpose of supporting the decision-making process.

Given these conditions, there is interest in analyzing the results of the evaluation offered by PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education 2017, since there is a notable difference between the levels of academic achievement achieved by students from one federative entity (state) to another in Mexico [7]. The purpose of this study is to identify elements and significant characteristics of academic achievement, in the domains of Language and Communication (reading comprehension) and Mathematics, of students of public and private institutions of the country through methods of data analysis. The data patterns obtained could be useful as an information tool for parents, students, teachers, principals, educational authorities and society in general.

#### **2. Background**

In Mexico, Higher-Middle Education acquired greater responsibilities in both coverage and education quality that imparts to its students, since at present it is

**95**

*Analysis of Academic Achievement in Higher-Middle Education in Mexico through Data…*

evident the relevance of education imparted in that level and the impact that it will have on the development of the country [8]. In this context, it is important to mention that Mexico, in Higher-Middle Education, seeks the compulsory nature and strengthening of the selection procedures for entry and graduation of said

Consequently, it is important to describe the role of PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education, which is designed to offer specific information on the academic achievement of schools and their students. This properly used plan is a powerful recogni-

The evaluation carried out by PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education is aimed at students throughout the Mexican Republic who are in the last school year (semester, year, or any other variant defined by the educational institution), enrolled in a campus or institution educational, whether autonomous, state, federal or private. Areas of competence that PLANEA currently evaluates at this level of education are Language and Communication and Mathematics, which have the following charac-

• Language and Communication. In this domain, the students' abilities to

reflect, interpret, analyze and use written texts are explored through the identification of their structure, functions, and elements. All this with the purpose of employing communicative competitiveness and allowing it to actively

• Mathematics. In this domain, the students' abilities to identify, apply, synthesize, interpret and evaluate their environment mathematically are explored, making use of their creativity and logical and critical thinking, which allows

In the case of Language and Communication, the indicators associated with reading comprehension competences are subject to measurement, therefore, the evaluation topics focused on the processes associated with reading, such as extraction of information, interpretation, and reflection on language nature, and its use as a tool of logical thinking. Among the indicators evaluated in this

• Identification, ordering, and interpretation of ideas, data and explicit and implicit concepts in a text, considering the context in which it was generated

• Evaluation of text by comparing the content, previous and new knowledge.

• Relation of ideas and concepts coherent and creative compositions, with

• Sequence evaluation, or logical relationship in the communication process.

• Identification and interpretation of the general idea and possible development of a written message, drawing on previous knowledge and the cultural context.

• Identification of the normative use of the language, considering the intention

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84744*

tion tool to improve the quality of education.

them to solve different quantitative problems.

school level [9].

teristics [4, 6]:

domain are [4, 7]:

and in which it is received.

and the communicative situation.

• Analysis of a precise, coherent and creative argument.

introductions, development and clear conclusions.

intervene in society.

### *Analysis of Academic Achievement in Higher-Middle Education in Mexico through Data… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84744*

evident the relevance of education imparted in that level and the impact that it will have on the development of the country [8]. In this context, it is important to mention that Mexico, in Higher-Middle Education, seeks the compulsory nature and strengthening of the selection procedures for entry and graduation of said school level [9].

Consequently, it is important to describe the role of PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education, which is designed to offer specific information on the academic achievement of schools and their students. This properly used plan is a powerful recognition tool to improve the quality of education.

The evaluation carried out by PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education is aimed at students throughout the Mexican Republic who are in the last school year (semester, year, or any other variant defined by the educational institution), enrolled in a campus or institution educational, whether autonomous, state, federal or private. Areas of competence that PLANEA currently evaluates at this level of education are Language and Communication and Mathematics, which have the following characteristics [4, 6]:


In the case of Language and Communication, the indicators associated with reading comprehension competences are subject to measurement, therefore, the evaluation topics focused on the processes associated with reading, such as extraction of information, interpretation, and reflection on language nature, and its use as a tool of logical thinking. Among the indicators evaluated in this domain are [4, 7]:


*Education Systems Around the World*

Thus, as academic achievement is an important measurement parameter on the education quality, provided by educational systems, there is a need to know to what extent students achieve essential learning in different domains at the end of each educational level, with the purpose of making a diagnosis of the performance and knowledge achieved by students. In the specific case of Higher-Middle Education, according to [3], there are cases of students who at the end of their studies obtain the completion certificate without having the minimum knowledge necessary to subsequently pass the entrance exams in universities of the country; bringing as a

Given this, make diagnoses about the necessary knowledge acquired by students in school age is important because through these could be articulated strategies to improve the academic level and ensure homogeneous conditions to students for the continuation of a career university [4]. Precisely, currently, one of these diagnoses is made through the National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning (PLANEA, for its acronym in Spanish) in Higher-Middle Education, which puts into operation the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education (INEE, for its acronym in Spanish) in coordination with the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP, for its acronym in Spanish) of Mexico. PLANEA has as its main purpose to know the extent to which students manage to master a set of essential subjects at different times of their compulsory education [5]. In addition, the results offered by PLANEA aim to

• Inform society about the educational level in terms of student learning.

• Provide information of interest to educational authorities for the planning, programming, monitoring, and operation of the education system.

• Offer information to schools to help improve teaching and learning practices.

On the other hand, at present, due to the growth of data collection and the evolution of computing power, information is stored in different sources. This allows for using historical data to explain the past, understand the present and predict future situations [1]. Therefore, there is an increasing need to look for new ways to analyze and process existing data sources to obtain useful information and knowledge. However, the data volume, which these sources reach, is often a limitation for analysis of manual way. Therefore, specialized technologies have been developed to process and obtain information of interest with the purpose of supporting the

Given these conditions, there is interest in analyzing the results of the evaluation offered by PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education 2017, since there is a notable difference between the levels of academic achievement achieved by students from one federative entity (state) to another in Mexico [7]. The purpose of this study is to identify elements and significant characteristics of academic achievement, in the domains of Language and Communication (reading comprehension) and Mathematics, of students of public and private institutions of the country through methods of data analysis. The data patterns obtained could be useful as an information tool for parents, students, teachers, principals, educational authorities and society in general.

In Mexico, Higher-Middle Education acquired greater responsibilities in both coverage and education quality that imparts to its students, since at present it is

consequence that they delay or stop their university studies.

improve education based on the following actions [4, 6]:

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**2. Background**

decision-making process.

For Mathematics, the aim is to encourage the development of creativity and logical-critical thinking in students, considering that a student can better argue and structure their ideas and reasoning. Therefore, given the standardization that is sought in the evaluation process, as well as the use of multiple choice reagents, the exercises to solve do not require the use of calculators or specialized formulas. Among the indicators evaluated in this domain are [4, 7]:


The first PLANEA evaluation in Higher-Middle Education was held in March 2015, the second in April 2016, while the third was in April 2017. These evaluations were made to students in the upper middle level of the last school year of public and private schools of the country. **Table 1** shows the number of schools and students that participated in the three editions of the PLANEA evaluation in Higher-Middle Education.

Specifically, the aspects evaluated are aimed at measuring the academic achievement, highlighting the knowledge that a student of the upper-middle level must have to continue their academic life. Therefore, PLANEA constitutes a general diagnosis that can support self-directed intentions, enrollment in extracurricular activities, planning campaigns within schools, and other actions.

In order to guarantee that the evaluation of PLANEA will be carried out under homogeneous conditions throughout the country and to contribute to the reliability of the results obtained, some measures were implemented to strengthen the procedure for applying the test, such as [10]: (a) training on regulatory and operational aspects; (b) integration of personal files in order to verify that they meet the required profile; (c) use of optical reading to obtain fast information about the application and frequent incidents, and (d) use of a digital monitoring system to monitor the main activities scheduled before, during and after; to mention a few.


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**Table 2.**

*Analysis of Academic Achievement in Higher-Middle Education in Mexico through Data…*

current context of educational evaluation in Mexico were used.

As a method of work to analyze the academic achievement of students of highermiddle education in Mexico, a qualitative and quantitative approach was used. For this, data from the National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning was used, operated by the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education and the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico. For the analysis of results, variables relevant to the

As a data source, records were used from the National Plan for the Evaluation of Learning database (PLANEA), specifically data from schools of Higher-Middle Education, public, federal and state, and private schools recognized by the

Access to the version of the data source was made through the institutional PLANEA page (http://planea.sep.gob.mx/ms/base\_de\_datos\_2017). PLANEA's main aim is to know to what extent students manage to master a set of essential learning at different times of their compulsory education [7, 11, 12], in this case at the end of Higher-Middle Education, in two areas of competence: (a) Language and

In 2017, PLANEA used, as an evaluation instrument, an exam consisting of 100 multiple-choice items, divided into two educational competencies: (a) 50 for Language and Communication and (b) 50 for Mathematics. The test application includes 50-minute sessions distributed over 2 days. It is a diagnostic test; it is not a selection test for admission to Higher Education institutions. **Table 2** shows the

For 2017, 16,380 institutions, federal and state, public, autonomous and private with official validity and recognized by the Secretariat of Public Education were evaluated [4]. PLANEA in Higher-Middle Education qualifies educational competences acquired in four levels of academic achievement [7, 10]: (a) I, insufficient; (b) II, elementary; (c) III, satisfactory; and (d) IV, outstanding. These levels

**Themes Items number**

Management and construction of information 18 Argumentative text 11 Expositive text 11 Literary text 10 Total 50

Number sense and algebraic thinking 18 Changes and relationships 17 Form, space and measure 5 Information management 10 Total 50

*Elements evaluated in language and communication, and mathematics.*

points evaluated in Language and Communication and Mathematics.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84744*

Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico.

Communication, and (b) Mathematics.

**Language and communication**

**Mathematics**

**3. Materials and methods**

**3.1 Data source**

**Table 1.** *Schools and students participating in the PLANEA evaluation in higher-middle education.* *Analysis of Academic Achievement in Higher-Middle Education in Mexico through Data… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84744*
