Costa Rican Education

Costa Rican

Education

Private Schools

Public Schools

Costa Rica is one of the most educated coountries in Latin America. It boasts a 96% literacy rate, one of the highest in Central America. They take pride in education and schooling, with the goverment pushing it as a high priority.

Most expatriates and wealthy Tican families opt to send their children to private schools, most of which are located in the Central Valley. These schools range in tuition from less than USD$100 per month to thousands of dollars each year.

By: Brianne Davis

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Logan Pemberton

Costa Rica's public schools run from February to December, to coincide with the traditional coffee-picking season and the arrival of the dry season, or summer. The primary school system ends at the ninth grade, or approximately 14 years of age.

There are Catholic, Montessori, American and European schools that are English-only, Spanish-only, bilingual, trilingual and have a range of extracurricular activities and opportunities for students.

Depending on the school and their curriculum, they will follow the Costa Rican school year starting in February and ending in December, or they will follow the American calendar, starting in August and ending in June.

The school day is typically shorter in the public schools and there are few extracurricular activities offered, outside of soccer during recess.

Despite the high priority that education occupies in the national budget, many public school classrooms are very rudimentary. There are few textbooks and no computers, and the quality of the teachers is varied.

In 1986, Costa Rica was one of the first countries in the world to have a free, obligatory education. The first president of the country, and many other leaders were former teachers, so their school and education were high in importance.

President Figueres (elected in 1994) has promoted

a computer in each of Costa Rica's 4000+ schools

and has made English obligatory in the ciriculum.

Elementary school is divided in 6 year grades and kindergarten. Basics such as mathematics, language (Spanish and English), science, social studies, religion and physical education are covered in elementary school. Students are required to pass tests to move to the next level.

High school in Costa Rica consists of 5 year levels, finishing at 11th grade. High School students must pass the Bachillerato Tests to receive

a high school diploma and to gain admission to universities.

There are private schools in Costa Rica. Students attending the private schools have much the same curriculum as public school students but also have the chance to take SAT exams and can also receive the IB diploma through special studies in their Junior and Senior years.

There are also several private universities in Costa Rica whose numbers are increasing rapidly due to the difficulty of getting into a state- funded university. The University of Costa Rica (UCR) is the largest and oldest university and over 35,000 students attend this university mostly all on scholarships. But even if no scholarship is available to the student, the tuition is only about 200 USD a semester. The main campus is in San Pedro, but there are regional campuses in Alajuela, Turrialba, Puntarenas, and Cartago.

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Extra

Universities and Colleges

Secondary Education

Academic grading in Costa Rica works on a 100 point scale (and sometimes in an analog 10 point scale). For primary school level, a 65 is good enough to pass, while in high school and further levels the pass grade is 70. Students who attain from 60 to the pass grade get the chance to take on one extra test that reviews the whole year's topics, and in which a 70 is needed to achieve a pass grade

Costa Rica is a small country with large educational aspirations. These goals can be seen in the sheer number of post-secondary institutions. There are four public universities and several private universities and colleges.

Choosing a school for your child may depend on what options you want available to them after primary school. The Costa Rican public school system ends at the ninth grade, or approximately when the child is 14 years old.

Public Universities

Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica(ITCR)

Universidad de Costa Rica(UCR)

Universidad Nacional(UNA)

Universidad Nacional Estatal a Distancia (UNED)

Universidad Tecnica Nacional(UTN)

Private Universities

Almost all of them are strictly Spanish-speaking and fluency is required to understand the course material. Private universities offering courses in other languages are very rare.

Universidad Americana (UAM): located in Los Yoses, Montes de Osa

Universidad de Ciencias Medicas (UCIMED): located in San Jose

Universidad EARTH: located in Pocora, Limon

Universidad Hispanoamerica: located in San Jose

Universidad Latina: located in San Pedro

University for Peace: located in Ciudad Colon

If tuition fees are unattainable, there is a large system of scholarships and financial aid to make post-secondary education available to the largest number of Ticans. The private universities have much higher tuition fees, upwards of USD$10,000 per year, not including books and living expenses.

While the public universities offer a range of studies from liberal arts to technological careers, many of the private universities exist only for one or two areas of study, such as medical schools, biology and ecology or education.

If a child wants to attend college or university in Costa Rica, they can choose to continue school for two more years and earn a diploma. However, this diploma is not internationally recognized and will only gain entry into a local post-secondary institution.