According to Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Education (MEP), there are around 500 private educational institutions in Costa Rica, and about 180 of them offer a K-12 education.
There are also schools here that offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, and some operate under the international calendar. Students in IB schools are not required to take the MEP baccalaureate tests, and the MEP does not have data on the academic performance of these schools since they are governed by international academic standards.
The following are the IB accredited schools in Costa Rica and their languages of instruction.
NOTE: Each school has a link attached that you can click on for more information.
IB School students develop strong academic, social and emotional characteristics. They are also likely to perform well academically, and students on the IB Diploma Programme (DP) are likely to enroll at top-rated universities.
There is additional data published in another list of 91 private schools in Costa Rica that were evaluated by EKA C0nsultores Internacional. This organization specializes in media promotions that connect suppliers with professionals to promote business opportunities. You can review the data they provide in this PDF; CR Schools 2017 Ranking, which contains the name of each school, telephone number, address, cost of annual tuition (in Costa Rican Colones @ 580 exchange rate) and how many months per year you have to pay the tuition.
EKA has organized an Educational Fair to be held on May 19, 2018, in Costa Rica’s National Stadium, from 9 am until 5 pm. During this event, parents can meet with educational providers to better understand what the schools offer in terms of kindergarten, grade school, and high school programs. Families can talk with the representatives of the educational centers to find out what methodologies and ideologies each educational center provides.
The writer, Tom Rosenberger has lived and worked in Costa Rica since 1993 and from his travels throughout the country, he has acquired a wealth of knowledge about living and doing business in Costa Rica. If you have questions and would like to contact Tom click here.