The PAES test has been presented “in society” in this 2022 evaluation. It has been a long way to this proposal which, generally speaking, seems to be a much more pertinent alternative than its predecessors. But the litmus test will obviously be the result obtained and the ability of the instrument to fulfill the purpose for which it was designed, that is, it demonstrates its validity by evaluating skills and abilities.
This new proposal covers the contents from seventh grade to second grade and focuses on the evaluation of skills, an aspect that can be verified by reviewing some of the proposed questions.
In turn, there is a change in the scale of scores, which allows to differentiate more accurately the individual results, and is designed following the recommendations of experts, since, by enlarging the range of the scores, greater precision is obtained.
The profile of the PAES test is appreciated differently, and we expect to see more samples of evaluation of skills and not only of content.
However, there are safeguards and reflections that must be made in this conjunctural context of application of this test.
The fact that it covers between 7th and 2nd grade, this 2022 generation that today takes this test, is a challenge: these students studied their 2nd half in pandemic in 2020, in virtual mode and their third half in 2021 in blended modality many of them. In turn, this 2022 has been a post-pandemic year, highly conflicted, with a notorious rise in the indicators of violence and depression among students in general and high school in particular. It is very likely that, in addition, the results reflect once again, the remarkable inequality that exists in Chile in its educational system, which perpetuates and deepens the inequality that identifies us: the difference between schools with names and resources, and establishments with numbers, but without resources. To this we must add that the pandemic forced the MINEDUC and schools to “prioritize” learning and objectives in the classroom. We are aware that curricular coverage has suffered a notable decline in these three years of pandemic and post-pandemic.
We know that the efforts to try to advance on the different fronts and educational challenges are many, very complex and diverse. The solutions are too. But faced with this immeasurable diversity, we are left with a positive taste to know a university selection test whose focus is on the skills and competencies that are so needed to train professionals who help promote changes on the various fronts that this society needs. SEAP, we will be waiting for the results, and observing the process and decision-making that this should entail.
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The content expressed in this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
