Manuscrito
School quality assessment policy and its translation in school contexts: the case of SIMCE in Chile
Fecha
2015Institución
Resumen
This article describes, based on an ethnographic research study, how learning assessment policies
are re-contextualizated in the daily life of three elementary and high schools located in poor
neighborhoods in Chile with different performance categorization according to students’ tests
results. We sought to understand how the national system of quality measurement (SIMCE) is
lived and interpreted in daily school life. This policy, used for over three decades, assesses school
learning in primary and lower secondary education through standardized tests. We conducted
interviews and observations with teachers and leadership team members to explore school actors’
translation and interpretation of this policy. Results show that school actors experience the effects
of testing both as a menace and as a pressure. They consider the tests as a decontextualized and
unjust measurement and they respond with strategies that sought to avoid negative consequences.
This study contributes to understand the re-contextualization of standards and testing policies in
schools in disadvantaged contexts with different level of performance.
Keywords: educational policy re-contextualization; school quality in competitive contexts; school
actors in accountability contexts; standardized assessments; schools in disadvantaged contexts