Frequency of disability in students who take the university standardized admission test (saber 11 test) in colombia and their performance characterization

Background. Taking the standardised Colombian high-school leaving test (Saber 11) is obligatory for students to graduate from high school and is also used for rating students applying to Colombian universities; it has been adapted for evaluating young people having hearing physical, visual and auditory disabilities. Objectives Describing and characterising the profile of students suffering from disability (SWD) who presented the standardized Colombian high-school leaving test in 2009. Materials and methods. A descriptive secondary analysis was made of the standardised Colombian high-school leaving test database concerning SWD who took the test in 2009. A disability certificate must have been obtained beforehand and presented during registration for the test. The prevalence of SWD taking the test was calculated, their scores were recorded and univariate statistics were used for the social, demographic and economic characterisation of their profile. Results. 529,651 students took the test for the first time in 2009; 0.2% (842) of these students claimed to have some type of disability during registration. 35.0% (295) of these had a motor disability, 34.9% (294) had a hearing disability and were assisted by a sign language interpreter, 19.1% (161) were visually impaired and 11.5% (97) had a hearing disability but did not receive assistance from a sign language interpreter. Most SWD achieved mid-ranging scores; the visually-impaired scored higher points than the rest of the SWD. Conclusion. This study suggested that very few SWD were presenting the standardised Colombian high-school leaving test. Cognitive impairment could not be measured by this type of standardised test.