The PAA or Prueba de Aptitud Académica is an

educational assessment Educational assessment or educational evaluation is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data on the knowledge, skill, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, aptitude and beliefs to refine programs and improve student learning. Ass ...

that is used to help universities across

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

select incoming students. More specifically, it is a

standardized test A standardized test is a Test (assessment), test that is administered and scored in a consistent or standard manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored ...

for university admissions. It is offered by College Board Puerto Rico y America Latina (CBPRAL), part of the

College Board The College Board, styled as CollegeBoard, is an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an asso ...

. The PAA is not a translation of the Scholastic Aptitude Test used in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and it is developed independently from the SAT, even though the PAA measures the same constructs as the SAT. While the CBPRAL is based in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, the PAA is delivered in a range of Spanish-speaking countries. The third generation of the PAA assesses students on three components: Verbal Reasoning, Mathematical Reasoning, and Indirect Writing. Scores on each section range from 200 to 800. The fourth generation of the PAA, launched in Puerto Rico in December 2017, assesses three components: Reading and Writing, Mathematics, and English as a Second Language. A 200- to 800-point scale is used for each component. This use of scaled scoring for a

test score A test score is a piece of information, usually a number, that conveys the performance of an examinee on a test. One formal definition is that it is "a summary of the evidence contained in an examinee's responses to the items of a test that are ...

is typical of many assessments, as it facilitates score reporting after test equating. Research has supported the

reliability Reliability, reliable, or unreliable may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Computing * Data reliability (disambiguation), a property of some disk arrays in computer storage * Reliability (computer networking), a category used to des ...

and validity of the PAA.

References

{{Reflist Entrance examinations Standardized tests