Comparative Analysis of the Competences of Gymnasium Students in Lower Silesia Districts

The paper presents the analysis of students’ scores in compulsory examination administered in the last grade of the gymnasium. The subject of the research were the results from six competence areas in years 2002 and 2010 obtained by gymnasium graduates in Lower Silesia districts. The conducted multivariate analyses allowed to determine spatial diversity and dynamics of the competences of students on the lower secondary level of education. The following alarming conclusions are the result of this research: – in most districts the gymnasium students are prepared for further stages of education and for applying the knowledge and skills in life only in medium or weak degree; – the number of districts, in which the gymnasium students obtained good and very good results decreased in 2010; – number of points scored in the competence areas, where creativity and constructive thinking was crucial decreased, whereas in areas with less stress on constructiveness and conceptualism the opposite tendency may be observed