CGR Investigates SIMCE: Over $400 Million in Uncollected Fines and Calls for Accountability at ACE

Original article: SIMCE reprobado: Contraloría detecta más de $400 millones en multas no cobradas y exige sanciones en la ACE

The General Comptroller’s Office (CGR) has uncovered significant mismanagement within the Quality Measurement System for Education (SIMCE) 2024, following an audit that assessed the proper utilization of resources by the Education Quality Agency (ACE) for these assessments.

According to the Final Report No. 329 of 2025, released on Wednesday, over $400 million in fines remain uncollected from suppliers who violated contracts with the ACE.

Audit Unveils Series of Irregularities

The CGR’s audit revealed a troubling pattern of irregularities that undermine the validity of educational measurements and expose severe shortcomings in the oversight of external suppliers.

Among the issues identified, 142 examiners administered the SIMCE 2024 evaluations «despite a lack of evidence that they met the necessary requirements for their roles.» This oversight resulted in fines that were never collected by the ACE.

Shortcomings in Support for Students with Disabilities

The report also pointed out deficiencies in the testing of students with special educational needs.

In 45 classes requiring examiners for students with sensory disabilities (DS), there are no records indicating the presence of these professionals, leaving uncollected fines totaling $17,768,541.

Moreover, 111 examiners who administered the SIMCE 2024 assessments to students with sensory disabilities lacked certifications proving they had passed evaluations for these conditions, resulting in unpaid fines of $43,829,072.

In 699 courses that required classroom aides for students with Special Educational Needs, no such support was provided by the suppliers. As a consequence, the audited entity did not collect fines amounting to $276,004,694.

Irregularities in Printed Material

Regarding the printing of materials for the assessment, two subcontracting arrangements were discovered that the printing company failed to report to the ACE, constituting a violation of the established administrative bases.

«Furthermore, the agency did not collect fines associated with this violation, valued at $9,001,356,» reported the CGR.

Moreover, there were failures in meeting the delivery deadlines for the SIMCE 2024 application materials by the printing suppliers, leading to discrepancies in the calculation of fines between the ACE and the Comptroller’s Office regarding the number of delayed days considered, resulting in a discrepancy of $16,389,608.

«Due to this issue, the Comptroller’s Office ordered the ACE to document the collection of the fine, which amounts to $56,036,983, within 60 business days from the receipt of the report,» stated the supervisory body.

«For these reasons, the Agency must initiate disciplinary proceedings to determine any administrative responsibilities that may arise from the observed situations. It should report to the CGR within 15 business days,» they emphasized.

Phantom Students: Inconsistencies in Attendance Records

The CGR report also detected severe inconsistencies in attendance records that undermine the reliability of the results. It was found that 34,415 students were recorded as present in the General Student Information System (SIGE) for at least one day of the SIMCE 2024 evaluations, yet they appear as absent in the records of the Education Quality Agency.

«These same students are listed as absent in the records provided by the Agency, and therefore, they do not have results in the evaluations,» the Comptroller’s report clarified. This discrepancy represents a significant gap in the official SIMCE data and affects the representativity of national results.

In light of this situation, the CGR ordered the ACE to implement measures aimed at strengthening the «control, coordination, and validation mechanisms for student attendance during the evaluation process.»

Concurrently, the agency must send to the supervisory body the documents verifying the implementation of these measures through the CGR Monitoring and Support System within 60 business days.