New Icfes rule will require Colombian students to take one more subject starting in 2026

The Colombian secondary education assessment system is preparing for one of the most significant adjustments in recent years. Starting in 2026, the Saber 11 state exam, administered by the Colombian Institute for the Evaluation of Education (ICFES) , will include a new section designed to measure students' emotional competencies. This change stems from the recent passage of a law mandating Emotional Education at all school levels, from preschool through eleventh grade.

Until now, the Saber 11 exam has been structured around traditional areas such as mathematics, critical reading, natural sciences, social sciences, and English. With the new regulations, the Ministry of National Education will have to work jointly with the ICFES (Colombian Institute for the Evaluation of Education) to design an additional component that assesses skills related to emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and decision-making in everyday contexts. The intention is for these competencies to have a formal place within the exam, which serves as a benchmark for access to higher education and for various public policy processes.

Emotional education will be a mandatory subject in the Saber 11 exam of the Icfes

The law establishes that emotional education will not be an optional or supplementary subject, but rather a core component of education that must also be reflected in national assessment mechanisms. In this sense, the changes to the Saber 11 exam aim to align what is taught in classrooms with what is measured at the end of secondary education. By 2026, the Colombian Institute for the Evaluation of Education (ICFES) must have instruments that allow for the standardized assessment of aspects such as emotional awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills.