Head of Inep: education is not a 100-meter race

Mariana Tokarnia
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - Following the release of the National High School Exam (Enem) scores, the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) still has a schedule of announcements to fulfill. In the first half of the year, Inep is expected to release the results of the Basic Education Assessment System (Saeb), applied in 2013, which includes the Brazil Test and, for the first time, the National Literacy Assessment (ANA). Furthermore, changes are planned for the year. The agency is studying the use of the Item Response Theory (IRT) system, adopted in the Enem, also in the National Examination for the Revalidation of Medical Diplomas (Revalida), which was the subject of controversy last year.

The president of Inep, Luiz Cláudio Costa, spoke with the Agency Brazil This text discusses what the assessments conducted in 2013 show and what paths should be taken this year. The Saeb (National Basic Education Assessment System) evaluated 7,6 million students. The Prova Brasil (Brazil Test) assessed students in the 5th and 9th grades of elementary school and the 3rd year of high school. The ANA (National Literacy Assessment) assessed students in the 3rd grade of elementary school, at the end of the literacy cycle. In the Prova Brasil exam, for the first time, students had to answer science questions..

According to Costa, the results of the exams will serve as input for the formulation of public policies and for pedagogical intervention. The first results of the ANA (National Assessment of Assessment) should be released in March, so that schools "can prepare to act on the points where the assessment proves necessary."

The assessment will serve as a starting point for measuring the impacts of the National Pact for Literacy at the Right Age (PNAIC), which began implementation in 2013. According to the pact, children should be literate in Portuguese and mathematics by the age of 8. According to 2010 data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), illiteracy affects, on average, just over 15% of children up to 8 years old throughout the country. "The results will come over the years; as these young people correct these distortions, there will be a positive wave in all other assessments," he assesses.

The “positive wave” will also reach international assessments. In about ten years, these students will be 15 years old and They will participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).The 2012 results, released in 2013, showed that the country ranks 58th in mathematics, in a ranking Out of 65 countries, Brazil scored 391 points. The average score was 494 points. The OECD expects Brazil to reach the average within 21 years. Despite this ranking, the president of INEP (National Institute for Educational Studies and Research) highlights that Brazil experienced the greatest improvement in the evaluation, adding 420 students to its education system. 

“Brazil is making progress by successfully solving a complex equation. Education is not a 100-meter sprint. But we must continue to accelerate in quality and ensure the inclusion of students,” he says. The foundation of everything, he emphasizes, is teacher training. In addition to continuing the PNAIC (National Pact for Literacy at the Right Age), the Ministry of Education (MEC) should... to highlight the high school teacher training programThe forecast is for an investment of R$ 1 billion in the National Pact for Strengthening Secondary Education.

Costa also commented on the changes planned for the Revalida exam. This exam is necessary for doctors with foreign diplomas to practice freely in the country. The Mais Médicos Program created an exception allowing participants to work for a limited time in primary care. This caused controversy among medical entities and drew attention to the exam.

Famous for its high failure rate – in 2012, the pass rate ranged from 6,41% among Bolivian students to 27,27% for Venezuelans – the exam was to be tested in 2013 by medical students from Brazilian universities. However, a lack of quorum postponed the test. In 2014, there will be a new attempt, according to Costa, in the first semester. A committee is evaluating the use of the Item Response Theory (IRT) system in next year's exam. With this, there will not be a fixed score for the items. Items with more correct answers among participants will be considered easy and will have a lower score, and vice versa.

With royalties of oil and with more resources for the sector, in 2014, Costa says the emphasis will be on valuing teachers. “The approval of royalties [75% for education and 25% for health] effectively sets an important milestone. The decision to allocate the majority of these resources to education is very significant and demonstrates a commitment [to the sector].”