Accountability and external evaluations as mechanisms for regulating teaching practice: analysis based on Elementary School teachers from Dourados-MS

Abstract

This article derives from an interinstitutional research project dedicated to investigating the relationships established between accountability and the processes of school functioning and management. The present study focuses on findings from a master's research project developed within this broader investigation. It analyzes the perceptions of school actors regarding educational assessment and accountability processes. Grounded in a qualitative approach, with data collected through interviews, the study examines teachers' conceptions of educational assessment and the ways in which demands for performance are perceived and incorporated into their pedagogical practices. It is based on the understanding that assessment processes and accountability mechanisms – conceived as educational assessment, accountability, and answerability – are closely intertwined with everyday school life and are manifested in different contexts, particularly in the assessment practices developed by teachers in their classrooms. Drawing on the relevant literature and the analysis of interviews conducted with elementary school teachers, the findings indicate that large-scale external assessments, even when they are not associated with local reward or sanction policies, influence teachers' daily practices, particularly their assessment processes, as well as the selection of curricular content and teaching methodologies.