Abstract:

The University Entrance Exams in Spain have maintained the same structure for the last 25 years. In July 2022, the Ministry of Universities proposed a new format for the 2026-2027 academic year. A series of tests have been proposed consisting of four exercises, of which one will be on the subject of the test modality chosen by the student, two on common subjects such as History of Philosophy and History of Spain, and the fourth. The exercise will be general and will evaluate the competences associated with the linguistic field. In reference to the linguistic field, the test would focus on evaluating the academic maturity of the student through the contents of the subject of the Spanish language and foreign languages, together with the development of a text commentary. This particular exercise will have a value of 75% from the 2026-2027 academic year, and the subjects are not considered. What backlash will it have on the teaching of foreign languages? This article tries to offer a first approach to this problem, highlighting the effects it will have on teaching foreign languages and bilingual education for Secondary Education and Baccalaureate. It concludes with a comment on the negative effects of the proposed maturity test and its effect on access to universities, both at the level of Humanities and Science careers, where educational competencies and subjects are defined under other, more technical and professional criteria.

Keywords:

High Education, University Entrance Examination, English as a second language, educational skills, academic maturity.