Public Issues
Nr 999
January 7th, 2011
www.lyd.org
ISSN 0717-1528
PSU and Equity in the Access to the
University
Unlike the old Academic Aptitude Test
(PAA), which measured aptitudes, the
University Selection Test (PSU)
assesses the knowledge of curriculum
contents, with special detriment to the
talented students who attend schools
Last Monday, the results of the University
Selection Test (PSU, in Spanish) taken in
last December were published. The new
information confirms that, despite what was
set forth in 2005, when it was introduced,
this examination has not contributed to
improve the opportunities of the students
with lower resources.
that do not teach the subjects
adequately. The students of municipal
schools have greater difficulties to
obtain the best scores and therefore, to
have access to the best careers and
universities.
On the contrary, evidence indicates that
equity has worsened since the former
Academic Aptitude Test (PAA, in Spanish)
was replaced. Koljatic and Silva (2007)i
make a negative evaluation of this PSU
factor’s performance, stating that there were
also mistakes concerning its design,
implementation and transparency. In 2005,
the Educational Testing Service (ETS) of the United States
presented the report of an audit made to the PSU at the request of
Universidad de Chile. Unfortunately, and in spite of several requests,
the audit results were never published.
Difficulties for Obtaining a Good Ranking
According to the figures published by the Department of Evaluation,
Measurement and Educational Registry (DEMRE, in Spanish), during
this 2011 process, from the 100 schools with best scores, 95
correspond to private paid ones. Likewise, as shown in Table 1, the
proportion of students who obtain more than 475 points in the PSU,
according to the type of school, is lower in the case of municipal
Public Issues
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Nr 999
January 7th, 2011
schools, compared with private subsidized and private paid schools.
This gap shows no evidence of closing.
It is not easy to compare scores from different years and even more
so those of the Academic Aptitude Test (PAA) with those of the PSU.
Nevertheless, we can see the evolution of the possibility of students
from municipal, private subsidized and private paid schools to have
access to the best scores, since these students are probably going to
have better chances to choose their career and their university,
regardless of the evaluation instrument.
Table 1
STUDENTS WITH MORE THAN 475 POINTS
Institution
Municipal
Private
Subsidized
Private Paid
2009
47.55%
61.41%
2010
47.45%
61.72%
2011
47.05%
60.78%
91.26%
91.20%
90.62%
Source: DEMRE (Department of Evaluation, Measurement and Educational
Registry).
Chart 1
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEST 10,000 BY TYPE OF SCHOOL
70%
60%
50%
40%
%
Pagado
Subvencionado
30%
Municipal
20%
10%
0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Source: Self-preparation based on data from the DEMRE.
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Chart 1 shows the evolution of the distribution of the 10,000 best
scores according to the student’s type of school. We see that until
the 2004 process (last PAA), there was a downward trend in the
participation of students coming from private paid schools among the
highest scores. This trend was reversed when the PSU was
introduced. Moreover, the participation of municipal school students
among the best scores has shown a rather descendant trend during
the last years. These trends do not change when repeating the
exercise with the 5,000 o 1,000 best scores.
Chart 2
STUDENTS AMONG THE BEST 10,000 AS % OF THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO TOOK THE TEST, BY TYPE OF
SCHOOL
25%
20%
15%
%
Pagado
Subvencionado
10%
Municipal
5%
0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Source: Self-preparation based on data from the DEMRE.
The increase of the proportion of best scores coming from private
subsidized schools is partially due to the fact that their enrollment
number has increased over time. In order to control by enrollment
size evolution, Chart 2 shows the evolution of the students with best
scores, but as a proportion of the total number of pupils who took the
test by type of school. We observe that more than 20% of the
students from private paid schools were among the best 10,000,
while in the case of the municipal and private subsidized schools this
percentage was close to 2% in the 2010 process.
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Public Issues
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Chart 2 also shows a slight increase in the proportion of students
from private paid schools among the best scores since the
introduction of the PSU. In the case of the municipal and private
subsidized schools, this trend has descended since the introduction
of the University Selection Test. It is interesting to note that, although
there has been an increase in the participation of subsidized school
students among the best scores, there is a parallel decrease of the
proportion of these students having access to the best scores. The
higher number of students from subsidized schools among the best,
together with a decrease of the proportion achieving this position,
indicates that the quality of the subsidized schools is pretty
heterogeneous.
Differences in the Average Scores
Considering a wider group of students, we observe that the municipal
school students have substantially lower scores than the private
school pupils. Table 2 shows the average results of the 2011 PSU in
Language and Math for the students who took both tests, by type of
school.
Table 2
AVERAGE SCORE BY TYPE OF SCHOOL
PSU 2011
Institution
Municipal
Private
Subsidized
Private Paid
Language
456.26
489.36
Mathematics
459.47
490.48
Average
457.86
489.92
603.13
618.99
611.06
Source: DEMRE.
Table 2 indicates that, during the 2011 admission process, a student
coming from a private paid school obtained, on average, 153.2 points
more than a municipal school student, and 121.14 points more than a
subsidized school student. On the other hand, the subsidized school
pupils obtained 32.06 points more than the municipal school
students.
It is frequently argued that these differences are only due to the
student’s socioeconomic condition and not to the quality of the
education he receives in each type of school. Although it is true that
the socioeconomic conditions are relevant determinants of the skills
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development and their future opportunities, the difference in the
quality of education seems to be increasing these differences. It is
possible to isolate the effect of the type of school, controlling by
certain socioeconomic characteristics of the students, through the
multiple regression analysis.
Chart 3 shows the evolution of the isolated effect of the type of
school (private subsidized or municipal) on the PSU scores between
the 2004 and 2010 processes, in relation to the scores of private paid
school students.
In fact, when controlling by socioeconomic characteristics, the
differences are less than the gross measurements of Table 2, but
they are still relevant and they do not show any sign of reduction over
time. On the contrary, they show a slight upward trend.
Chart 3
DIFFERENCE IN PSU SCORES IN RELATION TO PRIVATE
PAID SCHOOLS CONTROLLED BY PARENT’S
INCOME AND EDUCATIONii
-25
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Puntos PSU
-30
-35
P. Subvencionado
Municipal
-40
-45
-50
Source: Self-preparation based on data from the DEMRE.
Final Remarks
Evidence indicates that the PSU suffers from severe equity
problems. Unlike the old PAA, which measured aptitudes, the PSU
assesses the knowledge of curriculum contents, with special
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Public Issues
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January 7th, 2011
detriment to the talented students who attend schools that do not
teach the subjects adequately. The students of municipal schools
have greater difficulties to obtain the best scores and therefore, to
have access to the best careers and universities. Since the
introduction of the PSU, this gap has shown no downward trend, but
quite the opposite.
We hope that the Ministry of Education requests a new audit
regarding the PSU soon. In order to promote the transparency of
such a critical feature in the access to greater opportunities and
social mobility on the base of merit, it is essential to effectively
publish the results of the reports and that equity is taken into
account.
Furthermore, it is necessary to evaluate greater modifications to the
current university access system. The report from the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on tertiary
education in Chileiii recommends, among other things, to include all
accredited universities in the Consejo de Rectores (CRUCH, in
Spanish) and to incorporate them to the selection process. Although
it is true that the two best universities in Chile belong to the Consejo
de Rectores, it is not in the least clear that those following in the list
of the best ones are also in it. The students are increasingly choosing
universities which do not belong to the Consejo de Rectores as their
second best option.
i Koljatic, Mladen and Silva, Mónica, “Problemas de Equidad Asociados con el
Cambio de las Pruebas de Admisión Universitaria en Chile”, Public Studies, Centro de
Estudios Públicos. 106, Fall 2007.
ii Multiple regression whose dependant variable is the average score of the Language
and Math tests, and the explanatory variables are dichotomous variables which indicate the
type of school, the family income level, the father’s education level and the mother’s
education level. Only students who gave both tests and had both parents alive were
considered.
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iii Reviews of National Policies for Education. Tertiary Education in Chile. OECD and
the World Bank, 2009
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