The National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) announced that attendance on the two test Sundays (9 and 16 November), of the 2025 National High School Exam (Enem), was approximately 70% of the more than 4.81 million confirmed registrants.
Considering only abstention on the first day of Enem 2025last Sunday (9), the index was 27%.
In a press conferencethe Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, highlighted that attendance on the two Sundays of tests in 2025 is similar to the results of previous years.
The balance is preliminary. The definitive data will be released together with the exam results, in January 2026.
The minister announced that the official answer sheet for the second day of the Enem exams will be released next Thursday (20).
“It will be a good day for the students to celebrate. And the final result will only be announced in January 2026”, said minister Camilo Santana.
News in 2026
The portfolio holder also announced that the government will use Enem for secondary education assessment purposes, starting in 2026.
This change, according to the minister, occurs due to students’ lack of motivation in dedicating themselves to the SAEB (Basic Education Assessment System) test, since their focus and maximum dedication is on the Enem (National High School Examination) as the main means of access to university.
According to the minister, the strategy will bring, annually, a more efficient and reliable result on the performance of these students, as it will reflect the test to which they dedicate the most effort.
Inep has already carried out the necessary studies and standards to implement this new form of assessment.
“We are going to work in 2026 to produce an assessment of the completion of basic education through Enem, which will certainly take the measurement of the quality of our basic education to another level. We will have students who are much more motivated to participate in this assessment and a test that covers all skills and knowledge,” explained the president of Inep, Manuel Palacios.
Another novelty announced by the minister is that the MEC asked Inep for a study to evaluate the application of the 2026 Enem, in the Portuguese language, in the capitals of three Mercosur countries for Brazilian and foreign candidates.
Inep is studying the application of tests in the digital model for this new audience in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Asunción (Paraguay) and Montevideo (Uruguay).
The institute must complete these studies by the end of March 2026 so that they can be announced in the publication of the Enem notice, predicts Santana.
“We will present it over the next year, also before the announcement of registrations. It will be something unprecedented, which was also being demanded by us at the ministry”, stated Camilo.
Occurrences
Around 1,700 candidates were eliminated for behavior considered inappropriate during the second day of the Enem tests. The preliminary number would have been below the historical average, recorded by Inep.
In general, the application of the National High School Examination (Enem) 2025 throughout the country was completed without significant occurrences, announced the minister, such as power outages in Rio Grande do Sul and occurrences in Ceará.
In a press conference at Inep headquarters, minister Camilo Santana confirmed that due to the shooting on Avenida Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday morning (16), those enrolled who would take the second day of the test at the Integrated Public Education Center (Ciep) 173 Rainha Nzinga Angola, in Acari, North Zone of Rio, will have the tests reapplied on December 17.
Regular application
On the second day of tests, participants solved questions in mathematics and natural sciences (chemistry, physics and biology).
In an unprecedented way, the exam adopted the testlet methodology, which groups different items around the same text to assess the participant’s knowledge.
“The testlet is an innovation in the construction of Inep tests and, certainly, it was very well received, due to its ability to better assess the literacy of our students”, assessed Manuel Palacios, from Inep.
The exam was administered in all 27 units of the federation, in around 165 thousand test rooms, all of which, in an unprecedented way, were equipped with metal detectors to prevent fraud attempts. The rooms were distributed in around 12 thousand test locations, in 1,805 municipalities.
In total, the MEC counted more than 585 thousand employees working on the two days of Enem application, including employees from Inep, Correios, Advocacia Geral da União (AGU), Samu-192, agents from the Federal Highway Police and Military Police and military firefighters, linked to the Public Security Secretariat of the states plus the Federal District.
The minister also valued that the 2025 Enem once again certified the completion of high school for candidates over 18 years of age, as long as they meet requirements such as a minimum score. He commented on the number of registrants who indicated this intention when registering.
“Almost 100,000 people signed up for certification purposes and what was new this year was the pre-registration of high school students.”
Reapplying the tests
Participants who missed the application of one or two days of Enem tests affected by logistical problems, natural disasters or infectious diseases will be able to request the re-application of the Enem from this Monday (17th) until 12pm next Friday (21st), Brasília time.
“Anyone who feels harmed, for example, by the lack of energy and factors external to schools, will have the right to reapplication on December 16th and 17th. Remembering that the reapplication request is valid from tomorrow, November 17th to November 21st. Including people who felt harmed in Paraná”, guaranteed minister Camilo Santana.
Enem was suspended in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, in the center-south of Paraná, after a tornado passed through the municipality on November 7th. The municipality was 90% destroyed, according to Civil Defense.
The request must be made via the Participant Pageon the Inep website, with access login via Gov.br platform.
The reapplication request will be analyzed individually by the Inep team.
The registrant will only take the test on the day on which their participation was unfeasible, for the reasons mentioned in the Enem opening notice.
For cases in which the request is accepted (granted), the tests will be reapplied on December 16th and 17th.
COP 30
The 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) is responsible for another change to the Enem 2025 calendar, in the municipalities of Belém, Ananindeua and Marituba, in Pará.
Exceptionally, in the three locations in Pará, candidates will take the two days of tests on Sundays, November 30th and December 7th.
What is Enem for?
Final grades from the National High School Exam (Enem) can be used to access public universitiesin different modalities; to apply for full and partial scholarships at private universities; to apply for student credit to pay private college fees; for admission to colleges without entrance exams; to study in Portugal; for self-assessment by trainers; and for certification of completion of secondary education or partial declaration of proficiency in this stage of basic education.
High school graduates in 2025 who are part of the Pé-de-Meia program and participate in the two-day exam of the National High School Exam (Enem) can receive an additional incentive of R$200, in a single installment deposited in the Caixa Econômica Federal account opened in the student’s name.
