Person First, PSU Second
One of the most compelling pieces of the research I am conducting is how the students center the Prueba de Selección Universitaria, also known as PSU, in every aspect of their academic and personal life. At Croft, the customary dialogue within both the student relationships and the classroom space is concentrated around the importance of the PSU, as well as how much these tests will impact the remainder of your life. However, the value of the PSU does not just permeate in general discourse, but it affects the mental and emotional well-being of those who must prepare to take it. Students who attend the Croft School have displayed significant signs of fatigue, anxiety, and stress around the topic of the PSU despite attending an elite school that has all of the best teaching, training, and materials to ensure their academic success. What does this mean for the 4 out of 10 students who do not have abundant financial resources to attend private elite schools or receive additional preparation, and those without the networks of connection to lean back on?
To recognize the need for preparation prior to the exam, it is important to understand the conditions and consequences of the exam itself. The PSU is a standardized test that serves as a requirement for students to attend and gain admission to university studies. Students who have completed secondary education are eligible to complete the exam which is prepared by the Department of Evaluation, Measurement, and Educational Registry. The grading scale is from 110-850, with an average score of 500 points. (To the students at Croft a “good” grade is 700-850.) This grade indicates excellence on the exam and grants admission to the most elite universities in Chile. There are two compulsory tests and two elective tests, culminating in four total test options. The compulsory tests are broken down into three subjects, Mathematics and Language & Communication. Elective tests are Science, which covers Biology, Chemistry, and Psychics as well as Geography, History, and Social Sciences. If we add up all the time allotted to complete the exams, we are looking at about 7 hours and 40 minutes. (chileaneducation.info) The exam, which indicates the future pathway of a student’s life, is conducted within the same amount of time (or less) as one is in school for just a singular day. This factor lends itself to the fact that the PSU is inequitable in its evaluation, is vastly challenging/demanding, and perpetuates the stratification of higher/lower class students and assets within private/public institutions.
Students from the Croft are said to be well-mannered, thoughtful, and ahead of their peers both academically and professionally. While reading through interviews, I noticed there were only a few actions admitted from students that were deemed worthy of disciplinary action. The two disciplinary actions that arose were in response to 1) students skipping class and 2) students failing class. Interestingly enough, when the students were asked about their reasoning for skipping class, it wasn’t the expected answer of hanging out with friends, going to the mall, etc. Students at Croft were skipping class to study for exams. A student from Croft explains, “Instead of going to class where they usually don’t let them study because they have to study that assignment they usually go to the library or somewhere else to study.” So, despite all of the resources, extra assistance, and preparation – these students still prioritize excelling academically to following behavioral rules. Both of these disciplinary actions lean on each other – students feel they can’t succeed academically if they are not given the time to study and their time is expected to be spent solely in the classroom space. In fact, many of the student interviewees iterated that Croft has the absolute highest of expectations for both in-school behavior and academic performance on the PSU. This is reflected by such disciplinary actions and through general student experience.
On another hand, low-income students in Chile are facing even harsher conditions and expectations when it comes to the PSU exam since they are unable to access equal training materials, academic advancement opportunities, and the resources to afford university studies. Just last year in January of 2020, hundreds of young students in Chile took to the streets to protest the PSU by disrupting test centers, blocking off entrances, tearing/burning tests, etc. (Nugent) These students were led by ACES, a long-standing far-left organization of students organized to demand educational equity. Students in Chile are politically powerful and this display caused 82,000 students to miss their PSU exam. Their ultimate goals are to end the PSU exam in general, create safer and more equitable classroom spaces, and increase the accommodations for low-income students when attending university. These students are doing radical work to end both economic and educational inequality in Chile, ultimately patching up some of the stratifications between public/private schooling systems and those who attend them.
In all, I hope to bring some flaws of the PSU exam into our view as well as how systematically, the educational force in Chile is disproportionately supporting/affecting students of ranging socioeconomic positions. Those in the upper-income levels can benefit from private and catered education which almost guarantees admission to more elites, creating a cycle of privileged wealth. However, those who are lower/middle-income that attend public school (some who also work alongside attending school), have less concentrated studies and structures to support their academic abilities and individual needs. By centering student effort, student-need, and discourses of inequality within – the breakdown of differing experience, access, and resources becomes more clear. In turn, reform and action can be implemented to address these historically rooted issues.
Sources:
Nugent, Ciara. “Why Students in Chile Are Protesting College Admission Tests.” Time, Time, 23 Jan. 2020, time.com/5770308/chile-student-protests/.
“University Selection Test-PSU in Chile.” Www.chileeducation.info, 2020, www.chileeducation.info/tests/entrance-examination-for-higher-education.html.
