In this article, we offer an introduction to the education system of Mexico, with insight on how best to evaluate common academic credentials from both the secondary and tertiary levels.

As a follow-up to this profile, WES will be offering a free interactive webinar on May 17 presented by Carlos Monroy, WES’ Group Manager for the Latin America region, with opportunities to submit Mexico-related questions at the end of the session.

Education in Venezuela is administered and regulated by the Venezuelan Ministry of Education and is highly centralized. Education is compulsory for the first nine years (educación básica) and is taught in Spanish. After nine years of basic education, students are streamed into either the humanities or the sciences at the diversified secondary education level (educación media diversificada), which lasts two years and leads to the award of the bachiller. Alternatively, secondary students can follow a two- to three-year specialized curriculum (educación media profesional) leading to the award of a technical degree. Education is free to all and at all levels of the system; however, private schooling is popular, especially at the secondary level. Both public and private schools are subject to supervision by the ministry, and must meet the same standards.

The number of Mexican residents seeking an evaluation of their academic credentials through World Education Services rose 24.7percent between 2010 and 2012, indicating a significant uptick in interest among Mexicans for U.S. educational opportunities after a period of recent decline in the wake of the global financial crisis. This is also evidenced in the most recent data from the Institute of International Education, which show an increase of 4.8 percent in the number of international students from Mexico coming to the United States between academic years 2009/2010 and 2011/2012.