Determinants of education quality in the Canal del Dique y Zona Costera region of Colombia

Abstract

This article analyzes the quality of secondary education in the municipalities of Canal del Dique y Zona Costera - a region characterized both by the richness of its soil and by its agricultural vocation. In addition to economic and social determinants, those variables having the most significant impact are determined, a key aspect in establishing general and specific measures for improving the potential for territorial development. In a new approach, these aims were met by applying the technique known as Ordered Logit – a type of Discrete Choice model – based on the results of the Saber 11 State Secondary Education Examination Critical Reading and Mathematics tests for 35,369 students from the region for the second half of 2014 and contrasted with each student’s socioeconomic conditions. The results show that, along with the institutional problems facing the region, high levels of poverty have had an impact on the quality of the education system, producing very low levels of quality, on a scale even more serious than the Colombian average.