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and about a 20% jump in students achieving at satisfactory levels in math within the same time period (Cueto,

Dammert, & Miranda, 2017).

However, although Peru has high enrollment numbers and has advanced academically, problems remain with

the quality and equality of public school education. In terms of quality, or the number of students performing

at or above grade level, the National Census Evaluation results still show that over 50% of second grade

students were not at satisfactory reading levels in 2015, and almost 75% were not at satisfactory math levels

(Cueto, Dammert, & Miranda, 2017). On an international stage, Peru still has a lot of progress to make in

terms of educational quality as well. According to the Programs for International Student Assessment (PISA)

reports about “what 15-year-olds know and what they can do with what they know,” while Peru has made

some progress it still ranks at or near the bottom out of the 65 participating countries (Schliecher, 2014).

Unfortunately, census results and other reports also continuously show inequality in the education system—

student achievement in Peru is closely linked with levels of poverty, ethnicity, location, and maternal

education (Cueto, Dammert, & Miranda, 2017). Indigenous students and students living in rural areas tend to

achieve at lower levels than students who speak Spanish as their first language and who live in more urban

areas. Students with disabilities also have less access to education, although there is little information

available on students with disabilities from national studies. This pattern of inequality is evident from five-

years-old onward (Cueto, Dammert, & Miranda, 2017). Overall, the key areas where improvement needs to

happen in the Peruvian education system are with quality and equity.

In 2007 The World Bank published Toward high-quality education in Peru: Standards, accountability, and

capacity building, primarily authored by Luis Crouch, but with studies and contributions from dozens of

others. This report discusses the state of the Peruvian Education system, but also what needs to happen for it

to improve. A need for educational standards, as well as improved classroom management rank high on the

list of factors that can improve learning results in Peru (Crouch, 2007). This struck us as important because,

the system that we have chosen to implement at Virgen del Carmen, PBIS, hits on both of these needs: both

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