Universal access has been reached in primary education. In addition, access to pre‐primary education is good for children aged 4 and 5, with coverage rates considerably above the average for the Latin America region. However, the completion rates of lower and upper secondary education remain unsatisfactory and have increased slowly over the past decades compared to other countries of the region. Uruguay has also very high repetition rates in regional and international comparison, leading to a high number of overage students. Furthermore, levels of student achievement in international assessments have decreased but remain above the regional average. A major concern is the significant proportion of students underperforming in secondary education.