Millions of candidates took the National High School Exam (Enem) tests this Sunday (16). The natural sciences and mathematics tests were administered in 1,805 municipalities across the 27 federative units.
The tests ended at 6:30 pm, but from 3:30 pm, Brasília time, participants could leave the test room without taking their test booklet.
Brasília (DF) 11/16/2025 – Erika Tauany was one of the first to leave the Enem exam room. Photo: Daniella Almeida/Agência Brasil
High school graduate Érika Tauany, 17, was one of the first to cross the exit gate at a school in Brasília. The candidate found the questions relatively easy.
“It wasn’t very complicated, no. There were some easy questions, others difficult ones, especially in the physics test”, he told the Agência Brasil report.
The person who also left the testing site after the minimum time was Thaylla Luara, a student who graduates in her third year of high school in 2025. At 18, she knows what she wants: to graduate in administration, to have a higher education degree and pursue a career as a criminal police officer. “The test was very easy, without any difficulties in chemistry, physics and mathematics. I was able to answer everything quickly.”
Tiring and difficult
Other candidates reported that the 90 questions were more difficult than those on the first day of the tests, mainly because of the mathematics and physics content, which generally require more calculations and time to solve.
This was the case of Janderson Polibio, who took the Enem to test his knowledge after completing high school 13 years ago. Of the 90 questions, he says he risked the answers on a third of them to guarantee extra points.
“I only did what I knew, what I remembered. I guessed about 30 questions. There’s no point in taking the test without remembering, without even having any idea what it is. Better to guess and go home”, he explained his early departure in Brasília.
At the Celso Suckow da Fonseca Federal Center for Technological Education (Cefet), in Maracanã, north of Rio de Janeiro, many candidates reported that the test was long and tiring.
“I found it tiring, but the questions were calm, more than we expected. I managed to do everything. Let’s see. I’m confident”, said Amanda Barbosa, 18 years old, who is applying for a position in nutrition.
Another who found it tiring was candidate Ana Gabriela, 19 years old. “Tiring, but much simpler than last year when I was a trainer. I prepared more for this year, I studied and the questions were a little easier this year”, said the participant who wants to do pedagogy.
Leonardo Drummond, 23 years old, found the test difficult. “I studied and prepared, let’s see what happens. Mathematics isn’t really my cup of tea”, the candidate for administration told the reporter.
For Davi da Paz Morais, 20 years old, “the questions were well prepared and there were none that were meaningless”. “I thought the test was good,” said the young man, who intends to attend law school.
Trainers
Matheus Oliveira, 16 years old, a 1st year student at a private school in the center of the federal capital, was the first candidate to leave the university center of Brasília, where he took the Enem for the first time as a trainer.
Even considering the level of demand of the mathematics test higher than the others, such as chemistry, biology and physics, Mateus considers it necessary to take the Enem to know the test without the pressure of having to enter a college.
“I think it’s good to get used to the test the way it is, which is different from what I’m used to doing. It’s very different from the simulations, because, here, I had the pressure of the time at the gate and inside [da sala]”.
Also acting as trainers were the brothers Felipe and Bruno Turazzi, aged 16 and 17, respectively, first and second year high school students at a private school in the Federal District. They both took the Enem at their mother’s suggestion.
Brasília (DF) 11/16/2025 – The brothers Felipe and Bruno Turazzi, aged 16 and 17, took the Enem as trainers. Photo: Daniella Almeida/Agência Brasil
Felipe found the test difficult. “It’s very big and very complex. I’m in the first [do ensino médio] and I didn’t learn the content from all the years to do the Enem well. And I’m still in my exam week and I need to study.”
Bruno Turazzi is thinking about studying law, and admitted that he didn’t do well in today’s exams either. “I’m really bad at math, which makes things complicated.” However, he said the experience was valid. “I can already know what the issues are like.”
Trainees’ grades cannot be used for admission to universities and will only be known after 60 days of the release of regular participants’ grades, in January 2026.
Families waited outside
While the students were taking the test, outside one of the test sites, there was housewife Geni de Oliveira Penna Matos, who was waiting for her granddaughter Leslianne Lohana de Matos Pereira to leave.
The two traveled 50 kilometers, coming from Águas Lindas de Goiás, and arrived at the location at 10:30 am. The young woman wants to enroll in a public college to become a cardiologist or physiotherapist.
The grandmother, who only attended the 1st year of elementary school, was cheering for the good performance of her granddaughter, who she had raised since her mother’s death.
“My heart is exploding. Leslianne prepared very well to be able to take this test.”
The person going through the same affliction was the bricklayer Darci Pinto de Sousa Pedreiro, father of Keyse, 18 years old. The daughter seeks to enter medical school.
The father, who studied up to the 7th year of elementary school, values the study of his three daughters. “What we didn’t achieve, I try for one of them to achieve. Time has passed for me and theirs has arrived for this. I’m looking forward to it and hoping. Keyse prepared herself, she’s very dedicated. She was at the study table all the time.”
Final exit
From 6pm onwards, candidates were able to leave with their question booklet.
The participant with a request for additional time, approved by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), is entitled to 60 extra minutes.
In the case of candidates who requested the video test in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), the increase will be 120 minutes, therefore, 8:30 pm.
Reapplication
Participants who missed one or two days of the Enem exam due to logistical problems, natural disasters or infectious diseases may request the Enem to be reapplied.
The request must be made from this Monday (17th) until 12pm next Friday (21st), Brasília time, through the Participant Pageon the Inep website, with login access via the Gov.br platform.
The reapplication request will be analyzed individually by Inep. In cases where the request is accepted, the tests will be reapplied on December 16th and 17th.
