Biology in University Access for the Over-25s in Spain

Abstract

University access for the over-25s is an examination held annually at all Spanish universities. After an initial interest in analysing and evaluating this exam, few studies now research its current status. This is the case for the specific Biology test. This article outlines the specific Biology test of the 2015–2019 examination sessions for the over-25s to access university in the autonomous communities of Spain. For that purpose we conducted a comparative study with a descriptive approach, following the strategy proposed by Ruiz-Lázaro and González-Barbera (2017), to analyse the frequency of the content blocks and the cognitive level required. Some differences were observed between autonomous communities, with priority given to subjects concerning microscopic aspects of Biology and with cognitive demands based on memorisation. Solutions and future lines of research are proposed, which may help to improve the features of this test.

Keywords: university; entrance examination; biology; comparative analysis; maturity.