Home Elements for a Diagnosis of the Spanish Educational System
2 - Academic performance (continued)


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Academic performance in the basic areas

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SPANISH LANGUAGE

READING COMPREHENSION

Evaluation of reading comprehension was based on presentation of diverse types of texts to the students, then asking questions that imply and demonstrate prior comprehension of these. Three types of texts were used: utility, informative and literary. The capacities of the students were also taken into account to determine the meaning of the content of the texts, to provide a personal interpretation, and to perform a critical analysis of these.

The utility texts were defined as those that describe a sequence of operations aimed at achieving a certain goal, or to determine the way in which a product or appliance should be used, recording a sequence of instructions that must be followed, or an information that implies rules for action; these texts may be imperative in nature, which implies activity by the reader. The informative texts provide, in turn, information that does not require any immediate action by the reader, although they do not have a literary aim either. Lastly, literary texts are those aimed at providing the reader aesthetic pleasure, without having an immediate practical purpose.

Table 1 shows the average percentage of correct answers among 14 and 16 year old students.


Table 1: Reading comprehension
Average percentage of correct answers according to type of text
Type of text aged 14 aged 16
Utility texts
Informative texts
Literary texts
65 %
61 %
43 %
76 %
67 %
83 %
TOTAL 59% 67%


By type of texts, the utility texts are the easiest to understand and the literary ones the most difficult, the informative ones lying between. This result perhaps shows that not enough attention is paid to literary texts in class, so there should perhaps be an increase in the emphasis on more frequent use of such texts.

In Reading Comprehension the national average obtained from the tests on 14 year old students was 220.52 points, located between the anchor points of 200 and 250. This means that the average 14 year old student is able to perform the tasks linked to level 200 and has not yet reached those for point 250. As to the 16 year old students, the national average was 271.15, disc is almost 51 points above that for age 14, thus lying between 250 and 300.

Table 2 shows the definitions of the performance levels in Reading Comprehension specifying what the students are able to comprehend in each one of the levels. It also shows the percentages of students located in each level and the percentage of students who exceed each level and the previous ones (it is always understood that a student placed on a specific level passes the skills of the lower levels).


Table 2: Reading Comprehension Levels.
Percentages of students aged 14 and 16 by level
Level Reading comprehension ability Students on each level Students who pass each level
The students are able to understand... aged
14
aged
16
aged
14
aged
16
400
  • the abstract ideas of utility and informative texts
  • the precision of ideas
  • the theses defended in informative texts
  • the meaning of rhetorical procedures in literary texts
- - - -
350
  • the abstract ideas in informative texts
- 2 - 2
300
  • secondary ideas
  • complex syntax structure in informative texts
  • figured sense and double meaning in informative and literary texts
2 21 2 23
250
  • the meaning of abstract or unusual words
  • double meaning in utility texts
  • the literal sense (the central idea, the characters, the thesis by the author)
  • the main ideas
  • rhetorical values in informative texts
  • information in informative and literary texts to obtain a new one
23 50 25 73
200
  • the meaning of specific words
  • the main theme or idea
  • the time sequence of the texts used
44 22 69 95
150
  • the meaning of the specific structures in utility texts
  • the information in the text to solve problems presented in informative texts
26 5 95 100
100   5 - 100 -


On the other hand, the results show that the easiest tasks for students aged 14 are those related to identification of the meaning of words, main themes and ideas related to texts with a simple construction. The most difficult tasks for these students are identification of the implicit meanings and double meanings which are not clearly stated therein.

Aged 16, the easiest tasks are those requiring identification of the meaning of the theme in the sample text, or of the main ideas set out in paragraphs or texts, as well as those implying recognition of the author’s thesis or posture. The most difficult tasks for students aged 16 are those related to understanding of idioms, that are not very usual in the daily context of these students.

The most important result, aged 14, is that stating that 69% of the students passes performance level 200, which implies that they are able to understand the meaning of specific statements in utility texts, the information in informative texts to solve problems, the meaning of specific words, the theme or main idea of texts and the time sequence in utility texts. However, 31% does not reach that level, which implies that almost a third of the students are not able to recognise the main theme of a text and finds it difficult to establish a time sequence in the action in utility texts.

The percentage of students aged 14 who do not reach the level of 250 is 75%. Three quarters of Spanish students aged 14 thus have difficulties in integrating the information in the texts and to produce a new one, as well as to interpret the main ideas or evaluate the elements of rhetoric.

A positive evolution is noted between 14 and 16, although the levels reached at that age do not imply a consistent improvement. Thus, 73% of the students aged 16 pass the level 250, so they are able to understand the meaning of abstract or infrequent words, the double meaning used in literary texts, the literal meaning (the central idea, the characters, the author’s thesis), the main ideas in texts, the rhetoric values in informative texts and the information in informative and literary texts to obtain a new one. One must not forget, however, that 27% of the students do not achieve these objectives.

The percentage of students of 16 who do not reach level 300 amounts to 77%. These students have difficulties in interpreting secondary ideas or in recognising double meaning and the figured sense of some texts.

Attention will also have to be paid to the marginal percentages, upward and downward. We ascertained, for use 14 and 16, the presence of a minority of students (5% in both cases) who seem completely beyond any reading learning and thus in severe inferiority. At the high end of the scale, scarcely 2% of the students of both ages clearly seem to stand out from the whole.



GRAMMAR AND LITERATURE

Evaluation of Grammar and Literature was based on analysis of the morphology, syntaxis, lexis and semantics, and knowledge of types of texts. The morphology block concerns the form and function of words. Syntaxis the structure and type of sentences. The lexical and semantic concerns vocabulary, classes of words and lexical levels (technical, cultured and vulgar vocabulary, etc.) and the meaning of words (monosemy, homonyms, synonyms, etc.). Text typology covers the subject of text classification according to purpose (description, narration, argumentation, etc.).

Table 3 shows the average percentage of correct answers by students aged 14 and 16 in Grammar and Literature.


Table 3
Average percentage of correct answers in Grammar and Literature
Areas Age 14 Age 16
GRAMMAR
Morphology
Sintaxis
Lexico-semantic
Text typpology
LITERATURE
Theory
History

52 %
55 %
72 %
37 %

49 %
51 %
 

65 %
51 %
53 %
52 %

47 %
48 %
 
TOTAL 53 % 52 %


In Grammar and Literature, the national average obtained from the tests administered to the students aged 14 was 225.73 points, lying between the anchor points 200 and 250. This means that the average 14 year old student is able to perform the tasks linked to level 200, although he still has not reached the competencies of point 250. As to students aged 16, the national average was 267.11, that is to say, somewhat more than 41 points above that for those aged 14, thus lying between 250 and 300.

Table 4 shows the definitions of the performance levels in Grammar and Literature, specifying the schools and knowledge the students are able to master in each one of the levels. They also show the percentage of students located in each level and the percentage of students who pass each level and the lower ones.


Table 4: Levels in Grammar and Literature.
Percentages of students aged 14 and 16 by level
Level Skills and knowledge
in Grammar and Literature
Students on each level Students who pass each level
The students are able to understand... aged 14 aged 16 aged 14 aged 16
400
  • Knowing the meaning of words in figured sense in an idiom
  • Knowing the meaning of infrequent terms
  • Assigning the function of the subject to a subordinate proposal in a complex sentence
- - - -
350
  • identifying the subject in simple sentences with personal pronouns in a tonal and atonal forest with the complement function
  • knowing the meaning of a latin colloquial phrase
  • knowing the object of the type of argumentative text
  • knowing the name of the specific poetic forms (elegy, lyric)
  • knowing the elements that characterise the dramatic genre
  • recognising a simile as a literary figure in analysis of a text
  • associating Romanticism with the type of atmospheres recreated in the works of that period
  • matching the first Spanish Grammar with the name of its author
- 3 - 3
300
  • identifying nouns as a morphological category, regardless of the context of the sentence
  • identifying words as classifiers when in the context of a sentence
  • identifying subordination in complex sentences
  • assigning the function of attribute to noun clauses in simple sentences
  • knowing the main elements of a narration
  • applying rules to the analysis of verses to calculate the syllables, determine the rhyme and type of stanza
  • identifying the epic genre
  • identifying personification as a literary figure
  • recognise significant poets of the 17th Century as contemporaries
  • identify, among different classical works written up to the 16th Century those which are earlier in time
2 21 2 24
250
  • knowing the non personal verb forms in irregular conjugation
  • knowing the phenomena of polysemy and antonyms, identifying the latter in text analysis
  • understanding logical-semantic parallelisms
  • identifying the grammatical sentence as a linguistic unit
  • knowing the modes of sentences
  • assigning the subject and direct complement functions to noun clauses in simple sentences
  • knowing the definition of the verse in major poetry in -Spanish metre
  • knowing the identifying features of the fable and comedy
  • associating the title of a classical novel with the literary subgenre to which it belong (Picaresque)
26 40 28 64
200
  • identifying words as nouns in the context of the sentence
  • recognising synonyms
46 28 74 92
150   24 8 98 100
100   2 - 100 -


In this area, the easiest tasks for students aged 14 were those related to the dimension of linguistic rules (that is to say, recognition of synonyms of familiar words, associating words, identification of the noun in a sentence, etc.). The more difficult tasks were shown to be interpretation of figures of speech, the knowledge of the meaning of argumentation and knowledge of concepts in the literary field. The students aged 14 also had difficulties in tasks requiring knowledge of the non personal verbal forms of irregular conjugation, knowledge of polysemy and antonyms, identification of a grammatical sentence, adequate assignment of functions of the subject and complement in simple sentences and recognition of the literary subgenres and identification of their characteristics.

Among those aged 16 the easiest tasks were those involving recognition of whole sentences, knowledge of synonyms of specific words and identification of adverbs and transitive verbs. However, these students had difficulties to deal with matters requiring some syntactical functions (mainly when faced with subordinate or complex sentences), substitution of sentences of similar content, the content of theory and history of literature (especially to recognise the characteristics of the literary periods and the dramatic and poetic genres). In general, it seems to be easier for students aged 16 to deal with cognitive operations related to application of rules than those related to knowledge of different contents.

The analysis of the results on the performance scale is not positive. Although 74% of the students aged 14 obtained more than 200 points, the fact is that only 46% are able to solve related matters that require identification of words in sentences as nouns and recognition of synonyms, and 26% showed no skill or knowledge whatsoever in these areas. The result shows that, evidently most of the students do not reach the minimum level required for that age. Otherwise, almost 72% of the students do net reach level 250, what means they have difficulties in grammar to recognise the non personal verb forms of irregular conjugation, polysemy, antonyms, to identify a grammatical sentence or properly assign the functions of the subject and direct complement in simple sentences. As to literature, they have difficulties to recognise the literary subgenres and identify their characteristics.

A certain amount of progress is noted in the situation at the age of 16, as the average rises 41 points. However, only 64% of the students of that age are able to recognise the non personal verb forms of the irregular conjugation and the phenomena of polysemy and antonyms, identifying the latter in text analysis, of understanding logical-semantical parallelisms, of identifying the grammatical sentence as a linguistic unit, of knowing the modules of sentences, of assigning direct subject and complement functions to the nominal syntagma in simple sentences, to know the definition of major verse in Spanish metre and the features that identify fable and comedy, of associating the title of a classical novel with the subgenre to which it belongs. This also means that almost 36% do not reach this level, thus ignoring all these points. If the target we set were that for level 300, 76% of the students would not reach it, as they show their difficulties in identifying nouns, assigning the function of attribute to a nominal syntagma, identifying subordination in complex sentences or knowing the main elements of a narration; and as to literature, they have difficulties in applying the rules to calculate the syllables in verses, or to determine the rhyme and type of stanza, or to recognise significant poets of the 17th century as contemporaries.

In general, the results must be qualified as alarming, as, along with the 26% of students aged 14 mentioned, 8% of the students aged 15 show no capacity or knowledge in these areas. At the highest end of the performance scale, only 3% of the students aged 16 reach the 350 level, which involves more complex tasks and relatively solid Grammar and Literature content.




SPELLING

One must remember what was stated at the beginning: that evaluation of spelling covered a limited sample of students, and not all evaluated in general terms in the previous scopes.

The standard of spelling among students aged 14 and 16 was measured through a dictation test consisting of a 71 word test (the test may be seen in the relevant Report). The text contains 20 words with spelling difficulties related to accents, 8 words with "h", 6 with t lengths "b"/"v", 6 with the letters "g"/"j", 3 with the letters "x"/"s", 3 with the letters "y"/"ll", 4 with use of capital letters and 3 concerning word linking or separation, involving a total of 53 spelling difficulties.

For analysis, the errors were classified in four categories: actual spelling mistakes, which are those involving spelling mistakes in the use of the letters "d", "b"/"v", "g"/"j", "x"/"s" and "y"/"ll"; mistakes in upper or lower case and use of the hyphen to separate words; mistakes in graphic accents related to use of the tilde; punctuation mistakes; and other mistakes related to adding or leaving letters out of words, changing letters or words, etc.

Table 5 shows the average number of mistakes and their typical deviation for the samples aged 14 and 16 by type of mistake.


Table 5: Spelling (MEC Territory)
Types of mistake Average number of mistakes and their typical deviations
Aged 14 Aged 16
Average T.d. Average T.d.
Spelling mistakes
Accent mistakes
Punctuation mistakes
Other mistakes
6,29
7,56
0,94
1,81
4,08
4,42
1,75
3,22
3,81
5,27
0,42
0,66
2,86
3,67
0,90
1,29


This table shows that the students, those aged 14 as well as 16, have notorious difficulties with accents, as well as in correct spelling using the letters "d", "b"/"v", "g"/"j", "x"/"s" and "y"/"ll", the use of upper or lower case, and the hyphen to separate words. It is obvious that the average number of mistakes in these categories, more than 6 spelling mistakes and almost 8 wrong accents on average at the age of 14 in a 71 word text shows very poor performance in the learning of spelling. At the age of 16, the average mistakes decrease, so there is thus progress between these two ages. However, the averages of spelling and accent mistakes, almost four for the former and more than five for the second, for a 71 word text, also shows a much lower performance than would be desirable.

Table 4 shows the average number of mistakes and percentage of students who fail according to the type of spelling difficulty for ages 14 and 16.


Table 6: Average number of spelling mistakes and percentage of students who fail in each type of mistake
Type of difficulty Aged 14 Aged 16
Average % Average %
Accents
Actual spelling mistakes
Upper/lower case
B/V
G/J
H
Y/LL
X/S
GU
Punctuation
Other mistakes
Letters exchanged
Words exchanged
Letters or words left out
Letters or words added
Word joining or separation
7,56

0,56
0,61
0,32
2,30
0,62
0,25
0,25
0,94

1,01
0,91
0,72
0,20
0,38
98,0

36,8
44,3
27,2
89,1
60,1
17,4
24,2
37,8

67,2
50,1
26,3
15,2
29,6
5,27

0,30
0,29
0,19
1,31
0,53
0,17
0,20
0,42

0,69
0,43
0,13
0,11
0,15
95,3

24,2
24,4
17,0
72,3
53,0
14,3
19,2
26,2

51,4
31,0
9,2
9,0
13,3


The results are proven to be very poor in terms of the mistake average by type of mistake. Moreover, they show that the majority of students have severe difficulty in the use of accents and the letter "h". This is clear if one bears in mind that, on one hand, 98% of students aged 14 and 95% of students aged 16 made at least one mistake related to the tilde, and on the other, 89% of the students aged 14 and 72% aged 16 made at least one mistake related to the use of the "h". They also have considerable difficulties with the letters "y"/"ll" and mistakes in changing letters and words.




WRITTEN EXPRESSION

The evaluation of written expression, as in the case of spelling, was restricted to the sample stated at the beginning of this chapter.

The objective of the test was to evaluate the level of skills among the students in writing an articulated narration. After a pilot test, narrative essays were noted to provide more information to evaluate skill levels, narrative texts being considered those formed by a description of sequences of facts or related events, concerning personal experiences or fiction. Due to this, the following instructions were used to concentrate and start off the task of written composition.

For 14 year old students: Write a letter to a summer friend telling him or her what happened at a party you had a lot of fun at.

For 16 year old students: Once upon a time there was a child who was very fond of animals ... Continue the tale to tell it to a small child.

Forty minutes were granted to write the essay. The time was set on the basis of the experience on the pilot test. The use of a maximum of three sheets was allowed, and the possibility of using half a sheet as a draft prior to the definitive version.

The same scale was used to classify the compositions for the students aged 14 and 16. The scale consists of 6 points defined by the amount of events or details of the story, and the quality of the narrative, considering the problem raised and the way to solve it, as well as the relation and sequence between ideas.

Table 7 shows the characteristics of the essays by the students which define each one of the six points on the scale called, from the lowest to the highest, "Description of events", "Story not developed", "Basic story", "Extended story", "Developed story" and "Elaborated story".


Table 7: Performance levels in written expression. Percentages of students aged 14 and 16 by level
Performance
level
Characteristics of writing by the students On each level Exceed the level
Age
14
Age
16
Age
14
Age
16
Elaborated story
  • Describes a sequence of episodes in which all the elements are developed well
  • Problem solving is elaborate
  • The events arise and are elaborated in a coherent, well expressed way
  • Are adapted to the receiver
2% 15% 2% 15%
Developed story
  • Describes a sequence of episodes in which the majority of the elements are clearly developed with a simple solution to the objectives or problems
  • There may be one or more problems
  • May include many details
18% 38% 20% 53%
Extended story
  • Describes a sequence of episodes including details of most of the elements in the story
  • The stories are confused or incomplete (at the end, the objectives of the persons or problems not adequately solved are ignored, the beginning is not related to the rest of the story and the internal logic or veracity of the actions by the characters is not maintained)
  • There are some problems with syntaxis
35% 30% 55% 83%
Basic story
  • Describes a series of events, giving details on some aspects of the story
  • The story lacks cohesion, because problems with syntaxis, sequencing, omission of events or the end not being developed
30% 14% 85% 97%
Undeveloped story
  • Consists of a list of linked events
  • Describes more than one event
  • Little detail is given as to the context, the characteristics or the event
13% 3% 98% 100%
Description of events
  • Consists of a list of minimally related sentences
  • Consists of a list of sentences that describe a unique event
2% - 100% -


The results show that, at age 14, 85% of the students are able to write a basic story, that is to say, one describing a series of events, providing details on some aspects of the story (the events, the aims of the characters or the problems they are to solve), although there may be a lack of cohesion to the story because problems of syntaxis, sequencing, omission of events and an undeveloped end are detected; one must not forget that 15% of those students did not achieve that aim, as their narration was a series of related events without a detailed description of what happened or the contexts. At 16, almost all the students, approximately 97% were able to develop at least that type of story.

55% of the students aged 14 and 83% of those aged 16 are able to write long stories, which are characterised by those describing a sequence of episodes, including details on most of the elements of the story (the context, the episodes, the characters’ aims, or the problems to be solved), although the stories are confusing or incomplete (at the end they ignore the aims of the characters, or the problems are not properly solved, they do not link the beginning to the rest of the story, the internal logic or veracity of the actions by the characters is not maintained) and there are some problems with syntaxis.

At the higher end of the scale, the stories that describe a sequence of episodes in which most of the elements are clearly developed (the contexts, the episodes, the aims of the characters or the problems to be solved) with a simple solution to the aims or problems, in which there may be one or two problems, or many details or extended stories may be included, are written by 20% of students aged 14 and by 53% of students aged 16. However, only 2% of the students aged 14 and 15% of the students aged 16 write elaborate stories. These compositions are characterised by being adapted to the receiver and describing a sequence of episodes in which all the elements are developed well (the contexts, the episodes, the aims of the characters or the problems to be solved) in which the problem solving is elaborate and the events take place and are elaborated in a coherent, well expressed way.

In any case, clear progress is noted in the students’ skills between age 14 and 16, there being a notable increase in the complexity of the texts the students are able to produce at 16 compared with those at 14.


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