Uses and Abuses of Education Assessment in Brazil

Autor/in	Schwartzman, Simon
Titel	Uses and Abuses of Education Assessment in Brazil
Quelle	In: Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education, 43 (2013) 3, S.269-288 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0033-1538
DOI	10.1007/s11125-013-9275-9
Schlagwörter	Educational Assessment; Statistical Analysis; Educational Quality; Quality Assurance; Academic Standards; Improvement Programs; Educational Policy; Educational Improvement; Educational Indicators; Outcome Measures; Social Differences; Alignment (Education); Audits (Verification); Educational Development; Educational Change; Change Strategies; Politics of Education; Barriers; Foreign Countries; Brazil + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Education; assessment; Bewertungssystem; Statistische Analyse; Quality of education; Bildungsqualität; Qualitätssicherung; Effizienzsteigerung; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Teaching improvement; Unterrichtsentwicklung; Educational indicato; Bildungsindikator; Sozialer Unterschied; Bildungsentwicklung; Bildungsreform; Lösungsstrategie; Educational policy; Ausland; Brasilien
Abstract	Starting in the 1970s, Brazil developed a very complex system of quantitative assessments of education at all levels, making extensive use of statistical information and tests, in an effort to improve and maintain the quality of its education. However, with some exceptions, particularly at the graduate level, Brazilian education standards remain low, with few signs of improvement. After reviewing the existing assessment systems and their evolution, this Viewpoint argues that, although these assessments are a necessary component of any successful policy for educational improvement, they may fail without the appropriate technical and institutional considerations. Technical considerations include the need to avoid situations of reification, when the indicators, rather than education itself, become the main goal to be pursued; when obscure statistical estimations replace well-grounded psychometric measures aligned with existing curricula; when low-stakes tests are used for high-stakes purposes; and when the pedagogical, psychometric, and statistical procedures are not open to regular outside peer review. Institutional considerations include the need to make the assessment agency independent from government and other stakeholders, and to consider the large differences across the country's regions and populations. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10