What is Enem?

O And either is the National High School Examination, a test aimed at students who have already finished high school. With the Enem scores, students can enter higher education through programs of the Ministry of Education (MEC).

Read too: What are the 5 skills required in the Enem essay?

Topics of this article

  • 1 - Summary about the Enem
  • 2 - What is Enem?
  • 3 - Who can take the Enem?
  • 4 - What is the Enem for?
  • 5 - How does Enem work?
  • 6 - What is the Enem test like?
  • 7 - Is Enem a vestibular?
  • 8 - Where can Enem notes be used?
  • 9 - How to study for the Enem?

Summary about the exam

  • Enem is the acronym for National Secondary Education Examination, a test that gives access to higher education in Brazil.

  • It was created in 1998 by the Ministry of Education, with the purpose of evaluating the quality of education in the country.

  • Only in 2004, it started to be used as a criterion for entering higher education institutions.

  • Students in their final year of high school or those who have already completed it can do it.

  • It currently comprises 180 questions and an essay.

  • Its questions are divided into four knowledge areas.

  • Exam scores can be used in three Ministry of Education programs: SiSU, ProUni and Fies.

  • The exam can also be used as a means of admission to higher education institutions in Portugal that are affiliated with Inep.

What is Enem?

And either é the acronym of National High School Exam, one educational evaluation created by the Ministry of Education that serves as a way to enter higher education institutions. Enem was initially created to evaluate the performance of students who finished high school.

When it was launched by MEC, in 1998, the objective of the exam was to assess the quality of Brazilian education and reflect on how it could be improved. As of 2004, the Enem became used as a means of admission to higher education institutions.

Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)

Who can take the exam?

Can take the exam students who are studying the third and final year of high school. First and second year students can also take the test, but as trainers, that is, only to learn how the test works. You can also take the exam Candidates who have completed high school, regardless of age and when they finished this school stage.

See too: What are the topics that fall most in the Enem test?

What is the Enem for?

the enem serves to enter higher education through MEC programs who use exam scores as a means of selection.

How does the exam work?

Enem is a test that assesses the knowledge and skills that students have acquired throughout high school. For this, they are evaluated through 180 objective questions four areas of knowledge and for an essay.

The objective questions of the Enem test are divideds in four areas of knowledge:

  • Languages, Codes and Technologies (Portuguese, Foreign Language, Literature and Arts);

  • Mathematics and its Technologies;

  • Human Sciences (History, Geography, Sociology and Philosophy);

  • Natural Sciences (Biology, Physics and Chemistry).

Thus, for example, instead of taking tests in isolated disciplines, such as Biology, the student is evaluated through of a set of tests that encompasses the Natural Sciences — Biology, Physics and Chemistry — and which presents, generally, interdisciplinary issues.

Another specific feature of the Enem is the writing. Students must prepare a dissertation-argumentative text. Typically, they receive a social issue and then need to develop an intervention proposal, which is a viable solution to the problem addressed.

What is the exam like?

The exam test is composed per:

  • an essay in the format of a dissertation-argumentative text;

  • 45 objective questions on Languages, Codes and Technologies (Portuguese, Foreign Language, Literature and Arts);

  • 45 questions on Mathematics and its Technologies;

  • 45 objective questions of Human Sciences (History, Geography, Sociology and Philosophy);

  • 45 questions of Natural Sciences (Biology, Physics and Chemistry).

Is the Enem a vestibular?

the enem it's not an entrance exam. The exam measures the knowledge of students in relation to the contents taught in high school, as well as the selection processes carried out by universities do, however, unlike a vestibular, in which the student is approved, in the Enem, the enrolled just receive the notes, you caning use them in some selection.

Know more: Encceja — what is it and how to access the Enem through this test?

Where can Enem notes be used?

Public and private universities use the Enem score as a way to enter higher education courses.

Student with glasses holding notebooks and a backpack, with a doubtful expression.
Public and private universities use the Enem score as a way to enter higher education courses.

The Enem can be used in these three MEC programs: SiSU, ProUni and Fies. See below for details on each:

  • Unified Selection System (SiSU): offers vacancies in public educational institutions, such as federal universities, state universities and federal institutes located throughout Brazil.

  • University for All Program (ProUni): provides full and partial scholarships in private educational institutions throughout Brazil.

  • Student Financing Fund (Fies): has funding from Brazilian private universities.

Students can also use Enem to participate in entrance exams held by several universities throughout the year. The minimum weights and grades on the Enem vary according to the educational institution offering the vacancy.

the enem can also be used in universities in Portugal. Every year, the National Institute of Educational Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), which organizes the Enem, makes agreements with Portuguese institutions. To learn more about Enem grades, click here.

How to study for the exam?

Studying for the Enem is seeking to know and understand the proof doing simulations and previous exercises. These are top recommendations from teachers and education experts and from students who performed well on the test.

other forms to study for the Enem are:

  • create a study routine;

  • read professors' articles on topics from all disciplines/areas of knowledge required in the tests;

  • watch video classes on topics that generate doubts;

  • seek study tips from students who did well on tests.

image credits

[1] Brenda Rocha – Blossom/ Shutterstock

By Silvia Tancredi
Journalist

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

TANCREDI, Silvia. "What is Enem?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/educacao/o-que-e-enem.htm. Accessed on April 13, 2023.

Do you know when Youth Day is celebrated? Click here to learn more about this national commemorative date and learn about its importance.

Do you know what the 5 skills of the Enem writing are? Do you know what each of them evaluates? Get to know them, in this article, and learn how to perform well in the text.

Click to learn more about Encceja 2023. See the registration and exam dates, how the tests will be and who can participate in this edition.

Learn all about Encceja! See here what this test is for, how to register, what is charged and much more.

Click here, find out what the Enem newsroom intervention proposal is, find out what it should contain, learn how to prepare it and see examples.

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