Five presidencies, 12 education chiefs and little PISA progress: Mexicanos Primero calls for long-term policy

Six presidencies, 12 heads of Mexico’s Public Education Secretariat and a succession of reforms have produced little improvement in learning outcomes measured by PISA, civil society organization Mexicanos Primero warned. It said Mexico needs a long-term education policy that identifies what works, preserves it and corrects what does not.

The organization cited PISA 2025 results showing that only 30% of Mexican 15-year-olds reached at least the basic level in mathematics, compared with 65% across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In reading and science, only half reached that threshold, versus 69% and 74% in the OECD, respectively.

“The Mexican education system has changed a great deal, but it has learned very little from its own results and has not developed the institutional capacity to consolidate a long-term policy that guarantees everyone’s right to learn how to learn,” the organization said.

Mexicanos Primero said Mexico does not need another education reform, but a system able to learn from evidence, correct course and continue the measures that improve learning. It identified mathematics as a critical concern: between 2015 and 2025, the share of Mexican students below the basic level rose by 13 percentage points. The increase in reading was eight points.

The group proposed five priorities: strengthening foundational learning, restoring a national assessment system, providing continuous teacher support, narrowing gaps and preparing schools to use technology with families’ participation. It also called for a national recovery strategy with specific targets, deadlines, responsible authorities, resources and public indicators, alongside annual checks on reading, writing and mathematical problem-solving.

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The Mexican education system has changed a great deal, but it has learned very little from its own results and has not developed the institutional capacity to consolidate a long-term policy that guarantees everyone’s right to learn how to learn.