Mexico will add specialized textbooks after recent PISA results and review a possible policy regulating cellphone use in schools.

Mexico will roll out new mathematics and reading textbooks next year to improve student performance following recent results from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), President Claudia Sheinbaum announced.

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The new materials will target mathematics and reading comprehension, areas where the government has identified a need to improve academic performance, Sheinbaum said during a conference held as part of her state government reports.

The mathematics textbook was developed with teachers and specialists from a postgraduate program at Mexico’s National Polytechnic Institute (IPN). It is based on educational mathematics methodology and is intended to strengthen existing teaching practices while supporting teachers and students.

Text Reads: Thank you, President Claudia Sheinbaum@Claudiashein, for all your support in moving forward the people of Chiapas.

The federal government also plans to introduce a dedicated reading textbook following the decline in reading comprehension reported internationally.

Sheinbaum reiterated her criticism of standardized assessments conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), arguing that they make broad evaluations without taking into account the pedagogical particularities of individual countries.

“We are criticized because we criticize the PISA test; criticism is fair, but this is not a political position, it is a pedagogical one,” Sheinbaum said, while highlighting recognition of Mexico’s New Mexican School model.

Mexico’s Education Secretariat said the National Council of Education Authorities will meet on September 18 to review the results of a survey on the possible regulation of cellphone use in schools.

Sheinbaum warned about the addictive nature of digital platforms and said their use during the school day should be discouraged. She also recalled that recreational activities and traditional games, including yo-yos, jump ropes and lottery games, were promoted at the beginning of the school year to encourage physical interaction among students.

Chiapas Governor Eduardo Ramírez outlined measures to address educational backlogs in the state. Of its 5.5 million residents, 512,000 are illiterate, with women accounting for six in 10 cases. The proportion rises to eight in 10 in Indigenous communities, according to the governor.

The state’s target for the current period is to provide literacy training to 250,000 people. Ramírez said 194,000 people have already been reached.

The measures form part of Mexico’s efforts to improve learning in mathematics and reading while addressing literacy gaps and the use of mobile phones in schools.

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