Centro de Investigación y Documentación Educativa (CIDE)

University entrance studies

Transition from one level to the next has always been a problem within any education system, but, probably, the transition from secondary school to university is the most problematic of all.

The problem of university admission in Spain is a long-lasting one. To analyse its origins we have to go back to the beginning of the century. The so called "State exam", introduced in 1938, was intended for students doing the seventh year of secondary school but this exam was criticised for being overcrowded with students, its being aleatory, favouring inequality and for generating poor intellectual formation as well as for its lack of scientific preparation. Similar criticism is now expressed about the current "selectividad" system (university entrance examination) although the "State exam" was very different and only 10% of the population took it.

All this criticism has remained constant to all the different admission systems implemented through the years. Nevertheless, a new element has arisen in the last years: the growing disparity between the number of university places and the demand for higher education. This has changed the initial objectives of university entrance exams. Not only do they "select" those students that will go on to higher education, but also they “put them in order” for registration in those studies where the demand is higher than the supply.

For over ten years, the Centre for Educational Research and Documentation has assumed a leading role in studying the university admission system. In these years, its activity has followed three different lines: conducting studies and research about this subject; fostering external research and co-ordination of the research which has been carried out.

Studies and research elaboration

Since 1988, the Centre for Educational Research and Documentation has studied the subject of university admission. Along this period, CIDE has prepared three studies on the grading of university entrance exams, two comparative studies on the access to higher education in six European Union countries and another one on the exam characteristics. It has also carried out research in order to include objective tests in the exams.

The reports carried out by CIDE about this subject are as follows:

Muñoz Repiso, M.; Martínez, R. y González, B. (1988): Las calificaciones en las pruebas de acceso a la universidad.(Grades in university entrance exams). Madrid, CIDE. Unpublished research.
González B. y Valle, J. (1990): El sistema de acceso a la educación superior en seis países de Europa. (The access system to higher education in six European countries). Madrid, CIDE.(CIDE collection nº 42). 241 pages.
Muñoz-Repiso, M.; Muñoz, F.; Palacios, C. y Valle, J. (1991): Las calificaciones en las pruebas de aptitud para el acceso a la universidad. (Grades in university entrance exams). Madrid, CIDE. (CIDE collection nº 61). 146 pages.
CIDE (1992): Elaboración y validación de unas pruebas objetivas para el acceso a la universidad.(Preparation and validation of an objective exam for university entrance). Madrid, CIDE. Unpublished report. 45 pages.
Muñoz-Repiso, M.; Murillo, F.J., Arrimadas, I.; Navarro, R.; Díaz-Caneja, P.; Martín, A.I,.; Gavari, E.; Molinuevo, J.; Gómez, A. y Fernández, E. (1997): El sistema de acceso a la universidad en España: tres estudios para aclarar el debate.(The university admission system in Spain: three studies to clarify the debate). Madrid, CIDE. 257 pages.

Research promotion and dissemination

Besides the above mentioned studies, CIDE, fulfilling its duties of co-ordinating and encouraging educational research in Spain, has financed other studies about this subject. The following can be highlighted:

Aguirre de Cárcer, I.; Franco, J.F. y Guzmán, D. (1984): Las calificaciones en las pruebas de acceso en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. [The grades in the Autónoma University of Madrid entrance exam]. Madrid, CIDE. Unpublished research.
Aguirre de Cárcer, I. (1986): Validez concurrente de las calificaciones otorgadas en el COU. [Concurrent validity in the grades awarded in COU (Course for University Orientation)] Madrid, CIDE. Unpublished research.
Escudero, T. (1987): Seguimiento a la selectividad española. [Spanish university entrance exam monitoring]. Zaragoza, ICE of Universidad de Zaragoza.
Sanz Paz, J. (1992): Análisis por asignaturas de las pruebas de acceso a la universidad. [University entrance exam analysis regarding the different subjects]. Madrid, CIDE. Unpublished research.
Muñoz Vitoria F. (1993): El sistema de acceso a la Universidad en España 1940-1990. [The Spanish university entrance system 1940-1990]. Madrid, CIDE. (CIDE collection nº 90). 346 pages.
De Miguel, M. (1993): El acceso a los estudios universitarios. Análisis y seguimiento de la demanda en Asturias. [Admission to university. Analysis and monitoring of demand in Asturias]. Madrid, CIDE. (CIDE collection nº 91) 294 pages.
Martí Recober, M. (1998): Los sistemas de corrección de las pruebas de Selectividad en España. Análisis y propuestas. [Marking system of Spanish entrance tests]. Madrid, CIDE. Unpublished research.

(All these reports can be consulted in CIDE Library, c/ San Agustín 5. Madrid)

Research co-ordination

The organisation of two conferences about transition from secondary education to university can be highlighted in this context:

Jornadas sobre el Acceso a la Universidad. [Conference on university entrance], organised together with the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and held in April 1983.
Jornadas Internacionales sobre demanda en la educación superior y rendimiento académico en la universidad [International Conference on the demand for higher education and academic performance in the university] organised together with the Council of Universities and held in 1985. The record of this conference has been published by M. Latiesa (Comp.) (1986): Demanda de educación superior y rendimiento académico en la universidad. [Demand for higher education and academic performance in university]. Madrid, CIDE-SGCU.
Jornadas en torno a La investigación educativa sobre la universidad. [Conference on university educational research], organised in 1990 by the Polytechnic University of Madrid and CIDE. Record published by CIDE (1990): La investigación educativa sobre la universidad. [Record of the Conference on educational research on university]. Madrid, CIDE (CIDE Collection No. 55) 564 pages.

Last updated: 08, August 1998