Recently, educational assessment systems implemented by the Brazilian government have called attention to the human cognitive abilities that have been under study by psychologists since a long time ago. This work analyze the conceptual model of abilities and competencies that underlies the National Exam of High School Education comparing it with contemporary models of human intelligence from psychometrics and cognitive psychology traditions. Although the models use distinct terms they are referring to similar constructs namely fluid and crystallized intelligence, nevertheless construct validity studies are necessary to investigate more clearly what construct the test measures.
National Exam of High School Education; intelligence assessment; cognitive abilities and competencies