The Azores archipelago recorded positive averages in the Portuguese national exams in all subjects.

The scores of the first phase were released last Monday in all schools in the country, and Sofia Ribeiro, Regional Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs, states that this is “confirmation of the convergence” that the Region is making “with the national results.”

The official said that the Azores not only moved to a situation where it has a positive average assessment in all subjects, but the lowest average, ten, is “higher than the lowest average in the country,” which was 9.7.

“We went from a situation where we had some subjects with negative grades, namely five, to a circumstance where the averages of the evaluations of the national exams in all subjects, in the Region, are positive,” said Sofia Ribeiro in statements to Antena 1 Açores.

“It is a factor to be welcomed, and it is a convergence that is being made and that we want, in this way, to enhance,” added the Secretary of Education and Cultural Affairs.

In 2022, the Region had negative averages in Biology and Geology, Descriptive Geometry A, Latin A, Mathematics B,  Applied Mathematics, and Social Sciences.

“The Azores stand out compared to national averages in some subjects. It is not a new fact; we see that we have more disciplines in which this happens, even with better results, ” the Secretary continued.

Compared to national averages in Portugal, the Region achieved better results in English, Drawing A, Descriptive Geometry A, History B, History and Culture of the Arts, and Spanish.

Compared to the previous year, the Azores raised their averages in ten subjects: Portuguese (123.3), Biology and Geology (109.7), English (148.4), French (117.1), Drawing A (147.2), Descriptive Geometry A (102.5), Economics A (110.1), History B (146), Latin (107), Mathematics B (111.6) and Mathematics Applied to Social Sciences (113.7).

Sofia Ribeiro points out that the most significant increases “were registered in Portuguese, with 1.9 values, and in Mathematics Applied to Social Sciences, with 2.5 values”.

In the Region, 3,809 students attended the national exams’ first phase in 22 Azorean schools.

From a news article from Diário Insular newspaper, Angra do Heroímso, Terceira-Azores, director José Lourenço. Translated to English by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Insitute (PBBI) and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (MCLL) from Fresno State as a community outreach program.