Frequently asked questions about the ICFES

How many questions does the ICFES have?

The 2026 standard Saber 11 booklet has 254 questions from the five tests: 120 in the first session and 134 in the second. It also includes 48 questions from two questionnaires (socioeconomic and school climate) that don't affect your score, for a total of 302.

Booklets with reasonable accommodations, Pre Saber booklets and high school equivalency booklets have a different number of questions.

How long is each session?

Each of the two sessions lasts 4 hours and 30 minutes. Time is assigned to the whole session, not to each test, so within a session you decide how to split it.

Which tests are in each session?

The first session has Critical Reading (41 questions), Mathematics (25), Social Studies and Citizenship (25) and Natural Sciences (29). The second has Mathematics (25), Social Studies and Citizenship (25), Natural Sciences (29) and English (55).

In other words: Critical Reading is only in the morning, English only in the afternoon, and the other three tests are split between both sessions.

When was Saber 11 held in 2026?

Calendar B was held on March 15, 2026 and its results came out on May 15. Calendar A was held on July 26, 2026 and its results were published on September 25.

Icfes publishes each year's dates in its official schedule.

How is the score calculated?

Each test is scored from 0 to 100. The overall score, from 0 to 500, is a weighted average: the Critical Reading, Mathematics, Social Studies and Citizenship and Natural Sciences scores are multiplied by 3, the English score is added, the result is divided by 13 and then multiplied by 5.

So one point in any of the first four tests is worth three times as much in the overall score as one point in English.

Do the socioeconomic and school climate questionnaires count toward the score?

No. Icfes states that answers to both questionnaires don't affect the exam results. The socioeconomic one is used for academic, research and public policy purposes; the school climate one records how you see your school.

Is there a minimum score to get into a university?

There is no national minimum. Each university decides whether it uses Saber 11, which areas it weights and whether it requires a minimum score, and it can change that in each admission cycle. Universidad Nacional, for example, admits students through its own test; UIS and Universidad del Valle select with Saber 11 scores weighted by program.

Always check the current admission call for the program you're interested in. Cutoff scores from previous semesters are a reference, not a requirement.

How do I check my results?

On the Icfes results portal, with the details you registered with. Have your ID and your registration number at hand; if you don't know it, Icfes has a registration number lookup for exams taken since 2005.

If you have a concern about your result, the official calendar gives a two-month window after publication to file requests.

What should I bring on exam day?

A valid ID (without one you can't take the exam), a No. 2 pencil, a soft eraser and a pencil sharpener. Digital IDs are shown from the app authorized by the Registraduría; photos and printouts don't count.

Phones and other electronic devices are prohibited during the test. Check your exam summons: it has the full list of what's allowed and what's prohibited.

Can I leave before the session ends?

We didn't find a general rule in Icfes's public sources about when you can hand in your materials if you finish early. Those instructions are given by the room supervisor on exam day, and Icfes asks test takers to follow them at all times.

Keep in mind that time you don't use in one session doesn't carry over to the next, and that between the morning and afternoon sessions you do have to leave the site and come back. To take the full exam you have to return for the second session.

What's the difference between practicing by area, by session and taking a full mock exam?

Practicing by area means working on a single test, such as Mathematics: it helps you strengthen topics and learn your pace in that test. Practicing by session means combining the tests that go together in the morning or the afternoon: it gets you used to switching areas and splitting time between them.

A full mock exam reproduces the exam with its two 4-hour-30-minute sessions. It's the only way to measure how fatigue affects you and whether your time split works. The usual approach is to start by area and save mock exams for the last weeks.