This research is developed with the purpose of describing cognitive performance, as a core element of the academic performance of secondary education students from Umbita Boyacá Colombia. According to the level of knowledge, it is considered a descriptive study with a contemporary transectional field design, the population was made up of 275 students from the secondary institutions of Umbita Boyacá Colombia. To collect the data, a scale-type instrument with 64 items was used with a reliability calculated by Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.79. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics were applied, specifically the measure of central tendency, the median and the relative and percentage frequency. The results indicated that students have “low cognitive performance,” which causes them difficulties in paying attention to activities directed in the classroom, being attentive during classes or extracurricular activities, understanding the contents, and delivering assigned work on time.