Educational assessment dissemination culture: study on the institucionalization of secondary school national tests (Enem)

Abstract

This article aims to examine the implications of outsourcing the responsibilities for drawing up, operate and disseminate the results of secondary school national tests (ENEM). Initially, the culture of evaluation encouraged by the agencies responsible for the tests, the institutional arrangements and the game of power involving test application, in its first three editions are highlighted. Since outsourcing services to private institutions implies inserting public policies within the market, the bidding process to select the company responsible for conducting the ENEM in 2003 and 2004 was examined. It was noted that, despite the relationship between public and private institutions can be addressed by the parties as advantageous, there were contradictions and major problems in the process of test outsourcing.