Important
Ser Bachiller is no longer held. In April 2020 Ecuador's Ministry of Education ended it and split its two roles: a graduation exam (examen de grado) run by Ineval, and a separate university entrance exam run by Senescyt, the Examen de Acceso a la Educación Superior (EAES). The EAES itself was later dropped, and since a July 2022 decree each public university runs its own admission process. Check the admissions page of the university you want to join.
Overview
Ser Bachiller was Ecuador's national standardised exam for students finishing the final year of bachillerato (upper secondary school). It was set by the Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa (Ineval) and did two jobs at once: part of the grade needed to graduate as a bachiller, and the score used to apply for a place in public higher education.
Ineval described it as assessing the skills students should reach by the end of compulsory education, both as citizens and for higher education, based on the Ministry of Education's learning standards. In the 2016-2017 cycle, for example, 265,083 students were assessed.
Ineval's main website could not be reached when this page was checked, so parts of this page rely on news reports. It describes the exam as it was.
Exam pattern
Ser Bachiller covered five fields:
| Field | Counted in graduation grade | Counted in higher education score |
|---|---|---|
| Dominio Matemático (mathematics) | Yes | Yes |
| Dominio Lingüístico (language) | Yes | Yes |
| Dominio Científico (science) | Yes | Yes |
| Dominio Social (social studies) | Yes | Yes |
| Aptitud Abstracta (abstract reasoning) | No | Yes |
In the 2016-2017 cycle the test had 155 items in total.
Marking and results
Ser Bachiller gave two results, as set out by Ineval for the 2016-2017 cycle:
Graduation exam grade: from the four subject fields, on a 10-point scale with bands named Excelente, Satisfactorio, Elemental and Insuficiente. It made up 30% of the final grade needed to graduate as a bachiller.
Higher education score: from all five fields, on a scale from 400 to 1,000 points, used to apply for a place in higher education.
How it ended
April 2020: Education Minister Monserrat Creamer announced that there was no longer a Ser Bachiller, only a graduation exam and a university entrance exam. For third-year bachillerato students in the 2020 Sierra-Amazonía school year, the graduation grade was built from their academic record and a student participation project, with the entrance exam run separately by Senescyt.
June 2021: Senescyt announced it was dropping the EAES, which had replaced Ser Bachiller, in favour of a new test called Transformar plus a vocational guidance test.
14 July 2022: President Guillermo Lasso signed a decree for new regulations under the higher education law (LOES) that moved student admission to each university, in coordination with the Ministry of Education, and closed Senescyt's access office. He said the Senescyt exam was over for the Costa region and would end for the Sierra region the following year.
FAQs
Is Ser Bachiller still held?
No. It was ended in April 2020. Its graduation role passed to a graduation exam, and university admission is now handled by each university's own process.
How do I get into a public university in Ecuador now?
Since the July 2022 reform, each university runs its own admission process and entrance evaluation. Check the admissions page of the university you are interested in.