Institutional systems of student evaluation between theory and practical reality

Abstract

The article is part of the research entitled “Institutional Systems of student evaluation (SIEE) in the Educational Institutions of the Andean Department of Nariño 2011-2012, “ approved by the system of research of the University of Nariño by means of agreement No. 034 of 28 March, developed by the Research Group for the Development of Education and Pedagogy (GIDEP) .

This article presents the results of the above mentioned research project which proposes: to establish concepts, agreements and institutional practices in order to identify perceptions and attitudes that teachers, parents, and students have regarding the SIEE, and to derive some related theoretical - practical information in order to formulate a plan for the improvement of evaluation processes.

The research was developed with a qualitative research approach of evaluative nature, under the research - action methodology, which was deployed in five stages. The outcomes found that teachers and educational institutions interpreted the new rules of evaluation (Decree 1290 2009 MEN) as a mechanism for improving academic performance, with a return to a quantitative evaluation of results, which would mean a decline of 50 years in the history of evaluation in Colombia.

Consequently, the standard issued by the Ministry of National Education (MEN) has involved neither a conceptual, attitudinal, nor procedural change in its evaluative practices of teachers, which forces the thought that these must be accompanied by concrete actions in order to advance achievements that seek improvements to evaluation processes.