Bill 239.

Summary.

The bill establishes the Continuous Assessment System through National and International Standardized Tests (SECAPE) as an official mechanism for monitoring education quality in general basic and secondary education. It provides for mandatory standardized assessments in which public and private schools in the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) may participate. The Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación) would design and implement the system, assess learning, teacher performance, school management and education programs, and use the findings to guide improvements. It would also promote research into factors associated with learning and coordinate the country’s participation in international assessments. The bill defines concepts including quality, equity, cognitive and noncognitive components, census and sample assessments, education standards and system resources. SECAPE’s objectives include measuring competencies, identifying learning gaps and students at academic risk, comparing regions and education systems, guiding resources and curriculum reforms, and supporting teacher development and education research.

The Ministry of Education would determine the procedures that public and private schools must follow when administering tests to students in the regular and nonregular subsystems, with universal accessibility for students with special abilities. National tests would be mandatory and biennial. They would assess Spanish, mathematics and natural sciences in grades 3°, 6° and 9°; in grade 12°, subjects would depend on the student’s baccalaureate program. The bill requires participation in two or more recognized international tests according to the schedules set by the assessing organizations. It sets principles of technical rigor, validity, transparency, comparability, continuous improvement and confidentiality of individual results. The Ministry would also train assessment personnel and enter into cooperation agreements.

The Ministry would analyze the data and circulate technical findings and reports to authorities, schools, teachers, students, families and civil society, with feedback mechanisms and classroom use of the results. Findings would inform national policies and resources, regional programs, school improvement plans and teacher development, including the Comprehensive Program for the Improvement of Educational Centers. National tests would measure knowledge and competencies against standards and include cognitive and noncognitive components, varied formats and accommodations for students with special needs. For international assessments, the bill also provides for participation in three recognized assessments. It requires databases for representative samples, security protocols, resources and training. Selection would reflect national relevance, international comparability and methodological rigor. Results would also inform adjustments to standards, the national curriculum and support programs.

The bill directs the publication of technical reports, materials tailored to different audiences and open data on a platform developed by the Ministry of Education and the Government Innovation Authority (Autoridad de Innovación Gubernamental). Publication would protect personal data and avoid identifying students or producing rankings that stigmatize schools. Costs, methods, results, studies, anonymized datasets, released assessment instruments, international comparisons and improvement plans would be public. The National Directorate of Educational Assessment (Dirección Nacional de Evaluación Educativa) would have specialized professionals in each education region, while the State would provide financial, human and technical resources. The Executive Branch would issue regulations within three months of promulgation. The bill repeals Law 434 of 2024 and provides that the new law would take effect the day after its promulgation.

The public bodies concerned are the Ministry of Education, the Government Innovation Authority and the National Directorate of Educational Assessment. The bill could also concern public and private schools, teachers, students and their families, organizations working in education assessment, and the education community in the Republic of Panama.