PAU (university entrance exams): Introduction and Regulations

Organisation of the PAU in Catalonia
University entrance exams
Sittings
Regulations

The Oficina d'Organització de Proves d'Accés a la Universitat  (University Entrance Examination Office) is responsible for administering all of the university entrance examinations in Catalonia. Batxillerat graduates (equivalent to a secondary school diploma) from 698 centres in Catalonia are eligible to take these exams. The PAU Coordinating Committee exists to ensure that this process runs smoothly throughout Catalonia. It is made up of seven PAU coordinators representing the Catalan public universities and headed by the PAU Coordinator for Catalonia. The committee works closely with the Directorate General for Educational Organisation and Innovation.

Thirty-one university professors act as coordinators for the Batxillerat curriculum content covered in the PAU. Seven of these professors coordinate the areas of Arts, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Economics, Languages, Mathematics and Technology. These coordinators are responsible for formulating exam questions, establishing evaluation criteria, orienting correctors, and overseeing the appeals and re-marking process. The coordinators, assisted by sub-coordinators, hold decentralised meetings in the various centres and inform teaching staff or maintain appropriate contacts.

Each year a public call is made to university and secondary school teaching staff inviting them to become members of the examination boards. Approximately 1,300 teaching professionals are involved in this task. The boards are made up of a president and the required number of markers, each of whom is responsible for marking a maximum of 200 examinations in his or her area of specialisation, and for ensuring that the examinations are correctly administered. All marker receive specific marking instructions, and there are the same number of markers from universities as from secondary schools.

Each year, decentralised examinations are simultaneously held for a total of 30,000 students (in groups of 200). In the course of three morning exam sessions, seven subject areas are covered, and each exam lasts 1.5 hours. Each student uses an identifying bar code. The board oversees the process and marks the coded exams. Information services input the marks and prepare reports for centres and students. The incidents board deals with any students who have special needs in relation to the tests (e.g. those who have to complete the examinations on computers, in Braille or under any other special conditions).

University entrance exams

• The university entrance exams (PAU) are intended to evaluate the academic maturity of students and check that they have acquired the necessary knowledge of Batxillerat curriculum content.
• The PAU are the only external test in the Catalan education system: Catalan universities work together in their preparation, with the collaboration of secondary school teaching staff.
• PAU grades and the average Batxillerat grade are used to calculate the grade that determines admission to university studies. When applications for admission to a particular programme exceed the number of places available, the weighted average also determines order of preference.

The PAU have the following characteristics:

• Curriculum match: The exams adhere to a familiar structure. Each exam offers two options and the correspondence between the formulated questions and Batxillerat curriculum content is ensured.
• Anonymity: A computer coding system guarantees that markers can never know the identity of the students whose exams they are marking.
• Equality: In each sitting, all students simultaneously complete the same exams.
• Decentralisation: Exams are administered at many locations, and offices throughout Catalonia ensure that administrative processes are also readily accessible to the student.

Sittings

There are two sittings annually: the regular sitting and the special sitting. Students are allowed a maximum of four sittings to pass the examination. If a student does not attend any part of the examination, that sitting is not counted.

Regulations

• Royal Decree 1025/2002, of October 4, amending Royal Decree 1640/1999, regulating the entrance exam for university studies (Spanish Official State Gazette number 253, October 22, 2002).
• Royal Decree 990/2000, of June 2, amending and completing Royal Decree 1640/1999 (see above), (Spanish Official State Gazette number 133; June 3, 2000).
• Royal Decree 1640/1999, of October 22, regulating the entrance exam for university studies (Spanish Official State Gazette number 257; October 27, 1999).
• Law 1/1990, of October 3, on General Regulation of the Education System - LOGSE (Spanish Official State Gazette number 209; September 1, 1983).
• An official order of May 14, 2001, updating the official order of November 25, 1999, specifying the studies that lead to the granting of an official university degree in relation to each of the entrance pathways corresponding to these studies (Spanish Official State Gazette number 122; May 22, 2001).
• An official order of June 27, 2000, updating the official order of November 25, 1999, which specifies the studies that lead to the granting of an official university degree in relation to each of the entrance pathways corresponding to these studies (Spanish Official State Gazette number 159; July 4, 2000).
• An official order of November 25, 1999, specifying the studies that lead to the granting of an official university degree in relation to each of the entrance pathways corresponding to these studies (Spanish Official State Gazette number 286; November 30, 1999).