Overview
ENADE (Exame Nacional de Desempenho dos Estudantes) is a mandatory part of undergraduate study in Brazil, not an optional test. It was created by Law 10.861/2004, which set up Brazil's National System for Evaluating Higher Education (Sinaes), and it replaced an earlier exam known as the Provão, which had run since 1996. It is administered by INEP (Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira), a federal body under the Ministry of Education.
Who takes it
ENADE is taken by students who are either entering or concluding their undergraduate course, in the fields selected for evaluation that year. From 2025, it runs in three modalities: the general exam for bachelor's and technology-degree students, a separate exam for medicine students (Enamed), and an exam for students in teacher-education (licenciatura) programmes.
A student who does not take ENADE when required cannot complete their course and will not receive their diploma.
Structure or exam pattern
| Modality | Who it applies to | Components |
|---|---|---|
| General (bacharelado/tecnólogo) | Students entering or concluding these courses | Written exam covering general and course-specific content |
| Enamed | Concluding medicine students | Written exam |
| Licenciatura (teacher education) | Concluding teaching-degree students | Theoretical component (Prova Nacional Docente) plus a practical component on teaching preparation |
What it covers
The exam assesses content set out in the official curricular guidelines for each field, along with the skills and competencies expected of a student finishing that course.
Scoring and results
ENADE results feed into Brazil's higher education quality-assurance framework under Sinaes, alongside the exam's questionnaire component. INEP does not publish an individual pass/fail score to students in the way an entrance exam would; the result is used at the course and institution level as part of national evaluation.
Recognition
Because ENADE is a legal requirement under Sinaes, its results are used by federal authorities as part of the official evaluation of undergraduate courses in Brazil.
How to register
Registration and participation are organized through the student's own higher education institution, which enrolls students for the exam based on INEP's schedule for the year and field.
Is ENADE optional for undergraduate students in Brazil?
No. It is a required curricular component under Sinaes. A student who does not take it when required cannot receive their diploma.
Who takes ENADE — first-year or final-year students?
Both. ENADE is applied to a sample of students entering and a sample of students concluding the selected undergraduate courses in a given cycle.
What replaced the Provão exam?
ENADE did, starting in 2004, when Law 10.861/2004 created Sinaes as Brazil's system for evaluating higher education.
Is the exam the same for every course?
No. From 2025, ENADE has three modalities: a general exam for bachelor's/technology courses, Enamed for medicine, and a theoretical-plus-practical exam for teacher-education courses.