Department of Emotional Education: ICFES says it already measures socio-emotional skills in the Saber tests.

Following the approval by Congress of the new bill establishing Emotional Education as a mandatory subject in the country's public and private schools, the Colombian Institute for Educational Evaluation (ICFES) confirmed that the Comprehensive Evaluation System now includes students' emotional skills.

According to the new law, the ICFES would be required to implement a new method for assessing the country's children and adolescents in emotional skills, given that this subject will be mandatory from preschool through eleventh grade.

In response, the ICFES announced that socioemotional topics have been part of the country's Comprehensive Assessment System for a couple of years, and that important changes have been made in the past to meet the requirements of the new law.

This was announced by the entity's director, Angélica Blandón: "For several years, at the Icfes, we have been advancing assessment processes that go beyond academic knowledge ; education must foster the holistic development of the individual. This includes socio-emotional skills, values, and attitudes that are essential for life in society. And finally, innovation in the assessment of educational quality, where it is crucial that assessment methodologies evolve to reflect the current needs and contexts of students."

With this, the ICFES stated that for several years now, it has designed, developed, and implemented a Comprehensive Assessment System, which balances both summative and formative assessments with diagnostic intent to address the various dimensions of student development in Colombia. The system also has an inclusive approach that allows all students in the country access to the tests.

For example, the entity maintains, the Evaluate to Advance test from 3rd to 11th grade, applied to assess the learning of children, adolescents and young people from 3rd to 11th grade, which emerged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, was accompanied by questionnaires that seek to collect information about socio-emotional skills, associated factors and perceptions about those aspects that may have affected children, adolescents and young people during the health crisis and that may be related to their learning.

Similarly, according to the ICFES, the Saber tests for 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students include the administration of three auxiliary questionnaires, the purpose of which was to collect information on socioeconomic factors, associated factors, and students' socioemotional skills. Teachers, campus teaching directors, and principals also completed a questionnaire on associated factors.

It is worth remembering that the Icfes, in conjunction with the Ministry of National Education, has proposed the review and structuring of the CRESE tests , an instrument that seeks to obtain information on the skills, actions, and attitudes of students in grades 5, 7, and 9 related to citizenship, reconciliation, socio-emotional learning, and action against climate change.

“In line with Bill 625 of 2025, the Comprehensive Assessment System includes formative and summative assessments, encompassing cognitive, non-cognitive, social and emotional skills, and socioeconomic and contextual factors associated with performance. Based on its results, the System provides a more complete understanding of student progress, provides valuable information for personalizing instruction, identifies areas for improvement, and promotes an educational environment that supports the comprehensive development of students at different levels of basic and secondary education in Colombia,” the entity stated.