PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Statistical Yearbook of the Education System 2015-2016 has been published

Study reflects decrease in the prevalence of bullying at school among girls

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) published the statistical profile of Puerto Rico's education system for the academic year 2015-2016. The report includes data and information on all levels of education (pre-primary, primary, secondary, post-secondary, and university), both for the public and private sectors.

For the segment that groups the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels, the study highlights that in the public system the number of schools decreased from 1,386 to 1,332; students decreased from 410,950 to 379,818; teachers increased from 31.186 to 31,993 and the student-to-teacher ratio decreased from 13.2 to 11.9. 51.1% of the students were male, and the number of students in special education decreased from 129,086 to 123,376. While for the private system the number of schools decreased from 853 to 795 and the number of students decreased from 144,034 to 142,235; the number of teachers decreased from 11,645 to 11,536. 50.7% of the students were male, the number of students in special education increased from 15,828 to 16,462, and the student-to-teacher ratio increased from 12.2 to 12.3.

The new Measurement and Evaluation for Academic Transformation tests, better known as the META, began to be implemented in the public sector in the academic year 2015-2016; these revealed that 45% and 51% of all students in the public sector were proficient in English and Spanish subjects, respectively, while in mathematics only 33% were proficient. Regarding the results of the Academic Achievement Tests, known as Learn Aid and taken by students from the private sector, they revealed that between 62% and 67% of students in all grades, in the private system, were proficient in the subjects of Spanish, English, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics.

Regarding the average scores obtained in the University Assessment and Admission Tests, tests known as the College Board, the results showed that, in the public and private sectors, the subject with the highest score was English, with 443 and 552, respectively. It should be noted that, for all subjects, including verbal and mathematical reasoning, students in the private sector scored higher compared to the public sector.

This statistical profile also revealed that the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, related to bullying, demonstrate a decrease in the prevalence of Bullying towards girls in public schools from 13.4% (2013) to 10.5% (2015).

“Achieving a statistical profile of the entire educational system in Puerto Rico, including data from both the public and private systems, requires multiple sources of information with methodologies and publication dates that vary widely from each other. It is for these reasons, among others, that this type of product is usually referred to two or three years prior to the current year. But despite this, this Statistical Yearbook is the only product in Puerto Rico that presents a standardized reference framework that contrasts with previous years and provides projections for the future, as far as education statistics are concerned,” explained Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Acting Executive Director of the Institute and lead author of the report.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information or to access the statistical profile of Puerto Rico's education system for the academic year 2015-2016, you can visit the website: Publications or through the social networks of Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).

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Press Contact:

Idia Martínez

787-603-3200 imartinez@upfrontpr.net

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59% of visitors to Puerto Rico were women and 63% are Puerto Ricans residing in other jurisdictions

This is according to the Visitor Profile for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 published by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics in collaboration with the Tourism Company

San Juan, Puerto Rico. December 9, 2024. The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (CTPR) published the Visitor Profile Fiscal Year 2023-2024. This Profile includes the findings of the Traveler Survey conducted from July 2023 to June 2024. This survey was conducted at Luis Muñoz Marín airports in Carolina, Mercedita in Ponce and Rafael Hernández airports in Aguadilla, as well as at the tourist docks of Old San Juan. The term “visitor” includes all non-resident travelers staying in hotels, hostels, rented apartments, homes of family and/or friends, own home, guesthouse, and others.

“The main statistical product of traveler surveys are estimates of visitor expenses, which are included in Puerto Rico's Balance of Payments as income for our economy. In addition, these surveys contribute to the determination of Gross Product and generate statistics on the characteristics of travelers, characteristics that are necessary for decision-making both at the governmental level and by the private sector,” explained Dr. Orville M. Disdier Flores, Executive Director of the Institute.

For his part, the executive director of the CTPR, Carlos Mercado Santiago, highlighted that “the new Traveler Survey questionnaires were specifically designed to respond to the data needs identified by the CTPR, Discover Puerto Rico, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the Puerto Rico Planning Board and Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC. This strategic adaptation allowed us to collect key information for the planning, execution and evaluation of short and long-term promotion strategies, in addition to meeting the main objectives of economic statistics.”

The Visitor Profile provides information about visitors regarding their place of origin, gender, age, education, occupation, income level, the purpose of their trip, type of accommodation, places visited, average number of days spent, activities carried out, the quality of the services offered at airports, their satisfaction with their visit and their expenses in various categories. It should be noted that several reported analyses were broken down between Puerto Rican visitors and other types of visitors, allowing for certain contrasts. Among the most significant findings from this study are the following:

• 93% of visitors come from other jurisdictions in the United States.
• 63% of the people who visit us are Puerto Ricans who reside in other jurisdictions.
• 59% of the visitors were women.
• Puerto Rican women between 40 and 59 years of age represent Puerto Rico's most frequent visitor profile.
• The majority of visitors are highly educated, with 53% having a baccalaureate or higher degree.
• More than 50% of Puerto Rican visitors reported annual family incomes greater than $60,000 while most other visitors reported annual family incomes of $80,000 or more.
• The majority of Puerto Rican visitors visit us for vacations or to visit family and friends (36% and 32%, respectively).
• 47% of visitors stayed in the private residences of friends or family, followed by hotels (22%) and short-term rentals (20%).
• The main municipalities where non-Puerto Rican visitors stayed were San Juan, Carolina and Rio Grande. Puerto Rican visitors tended to disperse more across other regions outside the metropolitan area.
• The Metro region was the most visited in general, by 66% of visitors. This region is particularly popular with non-Puerto Rican visitors (76%).
• The regions of Porta del Sol, known for its beach tourism, and Porta Cordillera, famous for its mountainous landscapes, showed relatively low visitor values at 28% and 15%, respectively. 20% of the total number of visitors reported visiting Porta Caribe, famous for its culture and history.
• A low percentage of visitors (17%) participate in ecotourism activities.
• 95% of visitors were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their visit and 96% of visitors stated that they are “very likely” or “likely” to return to Puerto Rico.
• The total expenditure of air visitors reached $2,546 million, of which 52% were Puerto Rican visitors. Including cruise ship hikers in transit, total spending is close to $2.6 billion, representing approximately 3% of Puerto Rico's Gross Product.

To access the Visitor Profile Fiscal Year 2023-2024, you can visit Visitor profile.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access.

For more information you can visit the website: www.estadisticas.pr or write to preguntas@estadisticas.pr. They can also follow social networks through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), X (@EstadisticasPR), LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) and Instagram (@institutodeestadisticas) accounts.

Authorized by the Office of the Electoral Comptroller OCE-SA-2024- 13775

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Statistics Institute requests budget for its projects