PAU, EBAU, EVAU… You have probably heard these acronyms recently, especially now that the university entrance exams are approaching. All students who finish high school and wish to continue their studies at a university must take these exams. What are the differences between EVAU, EBAU and Pau? Which of them do I have to do?
The selectivity
In the first place, the term ‘selectivity’ is used to refer, in a general way, to to pre-university exams. It is an informal way of naming the university entrance exams. According to the website miselectividad.com, ‘selectividad’ is used from the idea of creating this test in the last decades of the 19th century.
Selectivity encompasses different exams that try to quantify, in a general way, the skills of the students. Thus, cut-off marks are established that select the students with the highest grades.
the PAU
PAU are the acronyms that correspond to the old University Entrance Test that was implemented in the 2009-2010 academic year and that it established a new model of access to the university that is very specific and defined. The qualification of the general phase of the PAU, together with the high school average, weightedly gives the note to access university studies.
EBAU and EVAU
The Baccalaureate Assessment for University Access (EBAU or EVAU) is the current way of calling pre-university exams. These exams are divided into two blocks, one compulsory and the other specific and optional that allows the student’s final grade to be improved.
But why sometimes with B and sometimes with V? There is no difference, it is just the way some universities in Spain have to refer to these exams. According to miselectividad.com, EBAU is the term used in Asturias, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Extremadura, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja and Murcia; while EVAU (University Access Evaluation) is used in Aragón, Castilla La Mancha, Navarra and Madrid. In Andalusia the term PEvAU is used, while in Galicia and Euskadi the acronyms ABAU and EAU are used, respectively.