The Spanish History test for university entry: Analysis and comparison among autonomous regions

Abstract

The university entry procedure is a critical aspect for students gaining entry to higher education. This work has a dual purpose: to analyse the structure of the Spanish History test for university entry, according to the autonomous region in which it is designed, and to study the relationship between the differences observed in the structure and average performance obtained by students. A comparative analysis has been carried out with a methodological approach of rational analysis of documentary evidence with sixty-eight exams from 2019, adapting the approach proposed by García-Garrido (1991). Likewise, a secondary analysis has been conducted of the data published annually by the Integrated University Information System. The results show substantial differences in the assessment of national historical knowledge: in the structure and content, in the cognitive level and in the marks. Disparities are specifically observed in the language of the test, in the optional nature, in the number of questions and in the content blocks that are assessed: in Catalonia, Valencia and the Basque Country, neither Ancient History nor the Middle Ages, nor the Modern Era are assessed. Likewise, the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha and Castile and León demand a higher cognitive level from their students. These aspects determine the heterogeneity in the constructs used, in such a way that neither the same understanding nor the same skills of national historical knowledge are being measured throughout the autonomous regions.