International Experience Can Inspire Brazil Promote reforms in its evaluation system so as to make it more modern and linked to curriculum changes. He was presented in a seminar organized by State, Lemon Foundation and Instituto Natura. Discussed the main findings of the incident report Improving the National Assessment: Main Ideas about Brazil, gives Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
For George Bethel, Director of the Anglia Assessment in the United Kingdom and OECD Advisor on the Report on Brazil, Reform of National Assessments, such as saebPreparation of goods requires work and requires financial resources in addition to time. Australia 2016 overcame these hurdles: The country defined, with the support of experts, exactly how the assessment would align with the curriculum. Work is important, says Bethel, so teachers and students know the syllabus will be reflected in the exam.
Like Brazil, Australian state and territorial authorities have the authority to decide how to implement the national curriculum. Therefore, it was important that the assessments not only measure learning against national targets, but also help in monitoring curriculum implementation across the country.
Another point in the process of redesigning assessments is how to deliver and use the results to improve learning in schools. An example cited in the OECD report is: South Korea. The country has a formal accountability mechanism. After identifying schools with more students below the baseline level of performance as measured by the national assessment, the government establishes support for these schools for three years. “The local government sets aside funds from the central ministry to develop a reform strategy to help these schools,” says Caitlin Guthrie, policy analyst for the OECD’s Directorate of Education and Skills.
‘Ranking often doesn’t explain anything’
For María Helena Guimaraes, president of the National Council of Education, it is necessary that assessments in Brazil “lessen the role of organizing rankings, which often do not explain anything, and are used in continuing education of teachers”. Caitlyn says it’s common practice to use test data to rank schools or networks.
The problem is that these rankings often compare situations that are not comparable, such as schools in rich and poor areas. Bethel’s view of this is that the rankings will be created – either by newspapers or by the students’ parents – and it is difficult to stop them. “The most important point is that the information is relevant”, he said at the event.
