Universities receive 2,057 requests for review for the controversial PAU mathematics exam
They are 600 more than last year and represent 9.4% of the total applications that have been submitted for all subjects
BarcelonaComplaints from some students and professors about the difficulty of this year's PAU mathematics exam have now been quantified. The Department of Research and Universities has received a total of 2,057 claims to review the scientific mathematics test for the selectivity exam. The number of reviews requested for the exam in this subject represents 9.46% of the total applications that students have registered for all PAU subjects held three weeks ago.
This year, 608 more claims have been received for the mathematics exam than last year, when the test concentrated 1,449 applications. In this regard, it should be taken into account that this year up to 17,025 students took this test and, therefore, 12% of the students who took the mathematics exam have registered a claim for the test.
Although the complete data on claims for all subjects are not yet known, sources from the Department of Research and Universities detail that the test that has registered the highest increase in claims (648) compared to the 2025 PAU has been chemistry with 1,472 claims. This test was taken by 10,736 students, therefore, 13% of those examined have claimed after knowing the results.
The worst mathematics grade in a decade
The controversy with the mathematics exam for the university entrance exams began right after the exam, when some students left the test crying, claiming it was longer and more difficult than they expected. The discontent grew when the grades became known and it was concluded that this year's average grade for the mathematics exam in the PAU (4.18) is the lowest in the last twelve years.
Despite the complaints, on the day the grades were published, the Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, defended that "the exam model aligns with the curriculum" and that "the structure [of the test] was no different from the previous year". Also, in the face of criticism for the exam expressed by students and teachers – but also by some PAU graders – the minister insisted that the exam models "are prepared by experts" and that the process is done "with academic rigor". Montserrat, however, also admitted that this year's mathematics grade "is not satisfactory", and added that this subject poses a "challenge" for students.
Regarding complaints, in this case unofficial ones, a few days after the publication of the PAU (University Entrance Exams) results, a petition on the Change.org platform to demand a review of the PAU mathematics exam. The petition, which was addressed to the students' families in the face of the "challenge" their children faced, according to its promoters, gathered more than a thousand signatures in just 24 hours. The petition, which garnered the support of 1,812 people, stated that they did not wish to question the curriculum taught, but rather the design of the exam, which was "excessively demanding for the time allotted".