EVALUATOR ISLAND: EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS AND TEACHER PERCEPTIONS IN SÃO LUÍS – MA

Abstract

This article aims to analyze how fifth-grade teachers in a public elementary school in the rural area of ​​São Luís-MA understand the impacts of external assessments on their pedagogical routine. Using the concept of the evaluating State, formulated by Afonso (2005, 2009, 2013), the term "Evaluating Island" was proposed as a metaphor to characterize the educational reality studied, marked by the recurrence of external assessment policies and the territorialization of their control logics in the daily school routine. The qualitative research involved the participation of teachers from the school studied, through semi-structured interviews as a data collection instrument. The collected material was analyzed using content analysis techniques, allowing the following inferences: external assessments have become devices that reorganize teaching work and establish a culture of permanent performativity (Ball, 2005, 2012), directly affecting the planning and autonomy of teachers, and do not reflect educational reality or quality. Furthermore, they generate a continuous feeling of pressure in teachers and are linked to bonus and productivity policies that reinforce teachers' accountability for achieving established goals.