National University Acceptance Exam
Acronym | EXACUN |
---|---|
Type | Competitive paper-based university entrance exam |
Developer / administrator | Ministry of Eduction |
Knowledge / skills tested | Several |
Purpose | Determine wether a student may bypass conscription and enter university directly; Qualify a student to enter university |
Year started | 1950 |
Duration | 10 days, variable hours per day |
Score / grade range | Fundamentals: 0–1,326 Electives: Variable Specialists: Variable Military: 0–180 |
Score / grade validity | Indefinitely |
Offered | Annually in October |
Restrictions on attempts | If passed: Cannot be retaken If failed: Cannot retake until military service complete, afterwards, no restrictions on attempts |
Countries / regions | Creeperopolis |
Languages | Atlántidan Spanish, Castillianan Spanish, Creeperian, Quebecshirite |
Annual number of test takers | 381,448 (2020) |
Prerequisites / eligibility criteria | Complete secondary education or be in final year of secondary education |
Fee | ₡2,000 colóns (₵500 credits) |
Scores / grades used by | Ministry of Eduction, colleges and universities |
Qualification rate | 58% |
Website | www.exacun.gov.cr |
The National University Acceptance Exam (Creeperian: Examen de Aceptación Universitaria Nacional, abbreviated as EXACUN) is the highest-level government exam administered by the Ministry of Education of Creeperopolis which qualifies students to enter college and university early and completely skip military service or if the student has to do military service. Passing the test is mandatory for acceptance into colleges and universities.
Possession of and/or distribution of EXACUN tests and test materials, even of old tests, is strictly illegal and carries a penalty of two years imprisonment and a ₡200,000 colón fine.
Contents
Requirements for qualification
The National University Acceptance Exam has several requirements a student must meet to qualify to take the exam:
- Either, (a) be in the final year of secondary education, or (b) have completed secondary education and have completed military service.
- Either, (a) be a citizen of Creeperopolis, El Salvador, or the State of the Church, (b) be a legal resident of Creeperopolis, El Salvador, or the State of the Church for at least five years, or (c) be a foreigner with a valid exam pass issued in the exam's present year.
- Have at least one teacher recommendation to take the exam.
- Have no more than ten detentions on student record.
- Have no more than two suspensions on student record.
- Have no expulsions on student record.
- Have no relatives in charge of administering the exam, monitoring exam takers, or having any sort of connection to the exam of the present year.
- Have no felonies on criminal record and have no more than two misdemeanors on criminal record.
- Pay the ₡2,000 colón (₵500 credit) fee to take the exam.
Skills tested
The exam contains fundamental, elective, specialist, and military subjects. Fundamental subjects are those that a student must take in order to pass the exam. Electives are subjects that students may elect to be tested on, which each student requiring to select four electives. There are four foreign language electives, but students are only allowed to pick one. Specialists are subjects that are needed by a specific group of students where a simple paper exam would not be sufficient to test the skills of students. Specialist subjects are also required to enter specialist schools. Military subjects are those required for students looking to become commissioned officers in the Creeperian Armed Forces.
The structure of the exam has been mostly the same since its creation in 1950. Notable additions overtime of the exam's existence were the four foreign languages which were added in 1970, the addition of Engineering and Technology in 1978, the addition of a second writing section in 1990, and the removal of Mathematics – Trigonometry in 2005 and its later readdition in 2006. The test has always had 1,326 fundamental questions, in commemoration of the year 1326 when King Miguel I captured Almadinat Almuqadasa after a lengthy siege. From 1950 until 1968, the percentage needed to pass the exam was 50% in each subject, but in 1968, it was raised to 60%.
Fundamentals
- Biology
- Economics
- Geography
- Government and Political Science
- Law and Law Enforcement
- Literature and the Creeperian Language
- Logic and Reasoning
- Mathematics – Algebra
- Mathematics – Calculus
- Mathematics – Geometry
- Mathematics – Trigonometry
- National Catholicism and Theology
- National History
- Romerism, History and Values
- Writing I
- Writing II
Electives
- Anthropology
- Astronomy and Astrology
- Chemistry
- Engineering and Technology
- Foreign Language – Andaluzian
- Foreign Language – Jackian
- Foreign Language – Quebecshirite
- Foreign Language – Salisfordian
- Geology
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Statistics
Specialists
- Art – Drawing
- Art – Painting
- Art – Photography
- Art – Sculpting
- Cooking
- Journalism
- Medicine
- Musical Performance
- Preforming Arts
- Sports and Athletics
Military
- Military History
- Military Logistics and Organization
- Military Tactics
Test scheduling
Testing always begins on the first Monday of October and ends on the second Friday of October.
- 1st Monday (Day 1)
- Biology (8:00am–9:00am; 40 questions)
- Economics (9:30am–10:30am; 50 questions)
- Mathematics – Algebra (11:00am–12:30pm; 70 questions)
- Anthropology (1:00pm–1:30pm; 30 questions)
- Astronomy and Astrology (1:45pm–2:15pm; 30 questions)
- Foreign Language – Jackian (2:30pm–3:30pm; 60 questions)
- Art – Drawing (4:00pm–6:00pm; 3 tasks)
- 1st Tuesday (Day 2)
- Geography (8:00am–9:00am; 70 questions)
- Government and Political Science (9:30am–10:30am; 60 questions)
- Mathematics – Calculus (11:00am–12:30pm; 60 questions)
- Chemistry (1:00pm–1:30pm; 30 questions)
- Engineering and Technology (1:45pm–2:15pm; 30 questions)
- Foreign Language – Quebecshirite (2:30pm–3:30pm; 60 questions)
- Art – Painting (4:00pm–6:00pm; 1 task)
- 1st Wednesday (Day 3)
- Law and Law Enforcement (8:00am–9:30am; 110 questions)
- Literature and the Creeperian Language (10:00am–12:30pm; 160 questions)
- Mathematics – Geometry (1:30pm–2:30pm; 40 questions)
- Geology – (3:00pm–3:30pm; 30 questions)
- Art – Photography (4:00pm–6:00pm; 10 tasks)
- 1st Thursday (Day 4)
- Logic and Reasoning – (8:00am–9:30am; 110 questions)
- Philosophy – (10:00am–11:00am; 60 questions)
- Physics – (11:30am–1:00am; 50 questions)
- Cooking – (1:15pm–1:45pm; 1 task)
- Journalism – (2:00pm–2:45pm; 1 task)
- Medicine – (3:00pm–3:45pm; 1 task)
- Art – Sculpting (4:00pm–6:00pm; 1 task)
- 1st Friday (Day 5)
- Military History – (8:00am–9:00am; 60 questions)
- Military Logistics and Organization – (9:15am–10:15am; 60 questions)
- Military Tactics – (10:30am–11:30am; 60 questions)
- Musical Performance – (12:00pm–1:00pm; 1 task)
- Preforming Arts – (1:15pm–2:15pm; 1 task)
- Sports and Athletics – (2:30pm–4:45pm; 10 tasks)
- 2nd Monday (Day 6)
- Mathematics – Trigonometry (8:00am–9:00am; 50 questions)
- National Catholicism and Theology – (9:45am–11:45am; 150 questions)
- Foreign Language – Sacramatian Spanish (1:00pm–2:00pm; 60 questions)
- Psychology (2:30pm–3:30pm; 40 questions)
- Sociology (4:00pm–5:00pm; 40 questions)
- Statistics (5:30pm–6:30pm; 40 questions)
- 2nd Tuesday (Day 7)
- Foreign Language – Salisfordian (8:00am–9:00am; 60 questions)
- National History (10:45am–1:00pm; 150 questions)
- 2nd Wednesday (Day 8)
- Romerism, History and Values (9:00am–12:30pm; 200 questions)
- 2nd Thursday (Day 9)
- Writing I (9:00am–12:00pm; 3 questions)
- 2nd Friday (Day 10)
- Writing II (9:00am–12:00pm; 3 questions)
Logistics
Fees
The National University Acceptance Exam has a fee of ₡2,000 colóns (₵500 credit) to purchase and take the exam. The fee covers the expenses of payment for student residences, food for the students, student transportation, compensation to cities, payment to universities, and other minor expenses. The fees cover around 35% of the total expenses, with the remaining 65% of the expenses being paid for by the Creeperian government. The average total expense for organizing the exam is 6 billion colóns (750 million credits), as reported in 2019.
Frequency
The exam occurs every October beginning on the first Monday of the month and ending on the second Friday of the month. The exam has occurred every single year since 1950, only ever being canceled once in 1988.
Student residences
Student residences are one of the largest expenses in organizing the exam. Students from across the country are instructed to travel to the capital city of their respective viceroyalty, or for El Salvador and the State of the Church, to their national capital. The journey is paid for by the Creeperian government. In the viceroyal capitals, the government rents out entire hotels to accommodate the students. The renting out of entire hotels has previously costed the capital cities of the viceroyalties to see a notable decrease in tax revenue from tourists, and in 1989, the Council of Mayors passed a bill where the Creeperian government would pay compensation to each viceroyal capital for the loss of revenue.
The government would organize student transportation on buses, rented from local bus companies the cities, and they would be transported to universities and colleges in the city, starting from largest to smallest. During the two weeks of the exam, students of the colleges where the exam is occurring are given two weeks of vacation but the end of their semester is delayed two weeks to accommodate for the loss in October. The colleges and universities are also paid for the use of their campuses. On the Sunday during the two week exam, all students are mandated to attend a Church service. The local bishop or archbishop commonly presides over said mass, and the Pope has presided over the San Salvador mass every year since 1985. The final say of testing is the second Friday, and students return home the next day.
History and reputation
Origins and modern test
Difficulty
Legality of test material possession
1988 test material and answers leak
Results per year
Year | Test takers | Average Fundamentals score |
---|---|---|
1950 | 1,313 | 652 / 1,326
|
1951 | 1,986 | 644 / 1,326
|
1952 | 3,522 | 678 / 1,326
|
1953 | 4,566 | 688 / 1,326
|
1954 | 7,322 | 625 / 1,326
|
1954 | 10,559 | 676 / 1,326
|
1954 | 13,555 | 732 / 1,326
|
1955 | 14,226 | 742 / 1,326
|
1956 | 23,580 | 658 / 1,326
|
1956 | 17,533 | 732 / 1,326
|
1957 | 18,444 | 742 / 1,326
|
1958 | 20,568 | 774 / 1,326
|
1959 | 22,339 | 800 / 1,326
|
1960 | 23,582 | 812 / 1,326
|
1961 | 25,328 | 832 / 1,326
|
1962 | 26,333 | 859 / 1,326
|
1963 | 28,338 | 946 / 1,326
|
1964 | 30,458 | 984 / 1,326
|
1965 | 33,583 | 1,002 / 1,326
|
1966 | 34,538 | 994 / 1,326
|
1967 | 35,383 | 1,034 / 1,326
|
1968 | 37,329 | 853 / 1,326
|
1969 | 43,282 | 896 / 1,326
|
1970 | 45,339 | 833 / 1,326
|
1971 | 47,338 | 844 / 1,326
|
1972 | 47,595 | 853 / 1,326
|
1973 | 48,228 | 839 / 1,326
|
1974 | 49,448 | 874 / 1,326
|
1975 | 50,045 | 850 / 1,326
|
1976 | 51,558 | 870 / 1,326
|
1977 | 52,584 | 859 / 1,326
|
1978 | 54,339 | 831 / 1,326
|
1979 | 56,339 | 840 / 1,326
|
1980 | 104,228 | 448 / 1,326
|
1981 | 121,448 | 560 / 1,326
|
1982 | 134,233 | 677 / 1,326
|
1983 | 157,339 | 689 / 1,326
|
1984 | 169,933 | 650 / 1,326
|
1985 | 180,228 | 713 / 1,326
|
1986 | 189,228 | 745 / 1,326
|
1987 | 197,383 | 786 / 1,326
|
1988 | ||
1989 | 213,228 | 804 / 1,326
|
1990 | 220,448 | 766 / 1,326
|
1991 | 226,438 | 786 / 1,326
|
1992 | 224,338 | 832 / 1,326
|
1993 | 227,338 | 801 / 1,326
|
1994 | 230,383 | 808 / 1,326
|
1995 | 250,338 | 752 / 1,326
|
1996 | 254,333 | 770 / 1,326
|
1997 | 254,044 | 775 / 1,326
|
1998 | 256,383 | 777 / 1,326
|
1999 | 258,338 | 778 / 1,326
|
2000 | 212,448 | 863 / 1,326
|
2001 | 213,228 | 877 / 1,326
|
2002 | 234,228 | 848 / 1,326
|
2003 | 278,369 | 699 / 1,326
|
2004 | 284,679 | 733 / 1,326
|
2005 | 300,022 | 756 / 1,326
|
2006 | 312,449 | 800 / 1,326
|
2007 | 321,228 | 836 / 1,326
|
2008 | 332,118 | 823 / 1,326
|
2009 | 333,558 | 829 / 1,326
|
2010 | 334,669 | 830 / 1,326
|
2011 | 335,669 | 836 / 1,326
|
2012 | 337,393 | 835 / 1,326
|
2013 | 340,338 | 822 / 1,326
|
2013 | 367,339 | 799 / 1,326
|
2014 | 354,228 | 822 / 1,326
|
2015 | 355,339 | 821 / 1,326
|
2016 | 358,678 | 830 / 1,326
|
2017 | 360,844 | 841 / 1,326
|
2018 | 363,119 | 839 / 1,326
|
2019 | 364,229 | 835 / 1,326
|
2020 | 381,448 | 802 / 1,326
|
2021 | TBD |