After more than two years of considering a new model for university entrance exams, the Government has definitively approved the royal decree that will regulate the test. It will be called the University Entrance Exam (PAU) and will begin to be applied in June 2025, seeking to unify the test throughout Spain. In addition, this new model will take into account the skills that have reached the classrooms thanks to the LOMLOE, moving from a more memorized model to a competency-based one.
The main changes of the new PAU
The changes in the new PAU are global: they cover everything from its structure and style to its assessment criteria. Some of the main ones are:
Unique exam model
Although traditionally in the university entrance exam students could choose one of the two exam models for each subject, now there will only be one, which will also be structured in different sections. Each one will have one or more questions, and in this case, it will be possible to choose which one to take. On the other hand, in each exam there will be a variety of types of questions or tasks: some will require closed answers, others semi-constructed (short answers) and others open (with greater freedom to develop the subject). In each of the exercises, the score assigned to the total number of questions must reach at least 70%. All tests will last 90 minutes, leaving aside the possibility of lasting 105 minutes, as was considered in the pilot tests.
Questions related to real life
Another relevant change is that the questions will be contextualized in artistic, scientific, humanistic and technological environments, preferably close to the students' lives. The aim is to leave memorization aside so that students can demonstrate, instead, creativity, critical thinking, reflection and maturity. In addition, the royal decree of the new PAU reflects that students will be able to use documents or auxiliary tools such as dictionaries, calculators, forms or tables; but the use of this material will be conditioned by the characteristics of each subject and the applicable evaluation criteria.
Mandatory and optional subjects to improve your grade
The compulsory exams will remain the same as this year: Spanish Language and Literature; History of Spain or History of Philosophy (to choose from); Foreign Language; the specific compulsory subject corresponding to the Baccalaureate branch studied; and, if applicable, co-official Language and Literature. However, as regards the optional phase, students will be able to take exams in one, two or three (four, if it is a foreign language exercise) subjects, instead of a minimum of two as the norm required until now.
Spelling mistakes
The coherence and grammatical, lexical and orthographic correctness of the texts will count for at least 10% in all the questions of the PAU; one of the points that the Ministry has wanted to unify throughout Spain. In order to try to reduce disparities between correctors, each exam will be accompanied by a document with the correction criteria addressed to the examiners, and they will also be included in the exercises that will be given to the students, so that they are more aware of how they will be evaluated.
