PAEP Offers Multiple Benefits

By Laura M. Zanini

The Prueba de Admisión a Estudios de Posgrado (PAEP) is a graduate studies admission test developed by the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) of Monterrey, Mexico, in the early 1990s, with the initial assistance of the College Board of Puerto Rico. Since 1994, the test has been used by LASPAU as a diagnostic tool in the selection of grant recipients for the Fulbright Program and other academic exchange programs. Latin American institutions find the objective assessment of applicants to be equally useful, as evident in the growing number of graduate programs and institutions in the region who are using the PAEP as a component of their selection process.

In its partnership with ITESM to offer the PAEP to other institutions, the role of LASPAU is to disseminate information on and manage the exam in all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America except Mexico. This includes the training and accreditation of institutions interested in using the exam, as well as grading and data management. In addition to ITESM, institutions currently using the PAEP include the Escuela Militar de Ingeniería, the Universidad Católica Boliviana, and the Universidad Privada Boliviana in Bolivia; the Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración (CESA), the Escuela de Administración y Finanzas (EAFIT), and ICESI in Colombia; the Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas (INCAE) in Costa Rica; the Escuela Politécnica del Litoral in Ecuador; and the Universidad ORT in Uruguay.

The PAEP not only provides a positive push toward the improvement and standardization of admissions but also offers great potential for educational research. It allows the systematic collection of data on areas assessed by the exam, which include verbal skills, math and science, cognitive ability, writing skills, and English as a working tool. The test results (compiled by each area and in total) convey information on the overall preparation of the applicants, allowing comparisons among institutions, regions, and countries in a way that is not possible without a uniform and reliable instrument.

Fall 2001/Winter 2002 Informativo Content: Ecology Initiative | LASPAU and IIE Collaborate | Seminar Addresses Sustainable Development | FANTEL Program | New Kellogg Fellowship Program | Marlene Johnson | PAEP Offers Multiple Benefits | New LASPAU Board Members  | Trustees Award Recipients | Grantee News | Call for Fulbright Alumni | Informativo Contents