At this level, students receive education in basic subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. Following that, students enter educación secundaria (secondary education) from ages 13-17, or roughly equivalent to 7th-11th grade in the U.S. At this level, their schooling is broken down into two cycles: the first from 7th-9th grade is a general education cycle covering basic subjects as previously mentioned. The second cycle from 10th-11th grade is a diversified education cycle, where students receive more advanced-level courses in a broader range of subjects. Students then typically graduate at the age of 17 and may continue onto higher education. However, if one chooses to apply for and attend an escuela técnica, their path is slightly different. These students also begin at age 13, but rather than a 5-year program as in an escuela secundaria public or private, at an escuela técnica, students complete 6 years of education from age 13-18. These students graduate a year later, and many of them enter directly into the job market in their chosen field, like computer science and programming or electricity.
At these lower education levels, the public schools are governed by an overseeing organization called the Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP), or the Ministry of Public Education.
