The number of students finishing fourth year of ESO in Catalonia with failed subjects has increased by 13.8% in the last three academic years, according to the latest data from the Department of Education and Vocational Training. In the 2023-2024 academic year, a total of 16,138 students have been promoted with pending subjects, a figure that far exceeds the 14,196 registered in 2021-2022, coinciding with the entry into force of the LOMLOE.
Barcelona, Girona and Lleida concentrate the increase
Barcelona leads the growth, with 9,193 graduates with failed subjects, almost a thousand more than three courses ago. Girona also registers a notable increase, going from 1,763 to 2,107 students in the same situation. In Lleida, the figure has grown from 585 to 829 students. Central Catalonia adds 886 graduates with pending subjects, while in Camp de Tarragona the number reaches 1,330 in the last academic year
The Department of Education and Vocational Training has recently rectified the data provided to Parliament, after initially reporting higher figures due to an error in the written parliamentary response to a question from Junts.
Debate on the meaning of the ESO title
Professor Miquel Carceller warns about the difficulty of not graduating students due to the increase in individualized plans in classrooms. This situation, according to him, can generate a false sense of preparedness among students
"The growing number of individualized plans in the classroom makes it very difficult not to graduate students, even if they don't achieve the expected competencies, which becomes a dangerous, fictitious sense of being prepared" - Miquel Carceller, professor
Carceller also points to the lack of understanding from some families regarding this phenomenon and proposes revising the graduation model
"The problem is that families don't always understand and it's common for them not to even want to hear about the issue in the third year, and once they've graduated and see they can't keep up with either high school or vocational training, they ask if there's a way back" - Miquel Carceller, professor
The same professor raises the need to establish two graduation paths, since, according to him, the current degree does not guarantee that the student has the necessary skills to face subsequent studies.
Early school leaving falls but remains above the European average
The Active Population Survey reflects that early school leaving (ESL) in Spain reached its historic low in 2025, standing at 12.8%. In Catalonia, the rate is slightly higher, at 13.4%. This figure represents an improvement of 0.2 points compared to 2024 and a reduction of 7.2 points compared to 2015, when ESL was 20%.
Despite the downward trend, the gap with the European average, set at 9.4%, is still 3.4 points. The debate on the real value of the ESO diploma and the students' preparation for later stages remains open among the Catalan educational community