ENEM cannot stop: conceptions of assessment during the pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic period that forced the closure of schools across the country, the Ministry of Education (MEC) hurried to publish the National High School Examination (ENEM) Notice keeping the starting dates for the tests. The federal government tried to instill in the exam the defense of President Jair Bolsonaro in favor of maintaining artificial normality, contrary to the recommendation of social isolation. After the announcement, many sectors were opposed and the Senate passed a bill determining the postponement. Seeking to understand this scenario, this article aims to expose the concepts of evaluation present in documents and in public manifestations of MEC. Among the questions that guide this article are: which conceptions of evaluation permeate the case? What would the decision to maintain the dates mean? And in what ways does this case favor the maintenance of a culture of tests? In this way, a documentary analysis of the public notice, ordinances related to the exam, advertising pieces, and statements by the minister of education was carried out. Based on the analyzes, it was possible to elucidate many contradictions, such as the fact that the position of the MEC undermines the purposes of the exam and has the potential to cause distortions that would make it impossible to use the data for education assessment. In addition, the disparity in access conditions tends to make the test even less equitable, which can lead to an increase in inequality in access to higher education.