HISTORY OF LITERACY ASSESSMENT IN THE BOM JESUS AND CLARIMUNDO CARNEIRO SCHOOL GROUPS: BETWEEN LEGISLATION AND PRACTICES

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the literacy evaluation practices in the first primary grade of the Bom Jesus and Clarimundo Carneiro School Groups, in Uberlândia/MG, in the period from 1955 to 1974. The evaluation of learning in modernity, according to Luckesi (2011), is a recent and distinct practice of the school exam, which historically dates back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Throughout the text, different concepts of evaluation are discussed, such as the positivist view that focuses on classification, contrasting with the dialectic that values learning as an inclusive process. The article revisits educational legislation in Minas Gerais and Brazil that influenced evaluation practices, starting with Decree-Law No. 8,529/1946, which established guidelines for primary education, and passing through Law 4024/1961, which defined guidelines and bases for education. The study points out that the evaluations were carried out mainly through monthly and final tests, reflecting a traditional approach to teaching. The evaluation practices in the two school groups reveal some similarities and differences. At the Clarimundo Carneiro School Group, the evaluations were made both through tests prepared by the literacy teachers and by external tests from the Department of Education, in addition to a reading exam carried out by the principal. In the Bom Jesus School Group, the principal and vice-principal were responsible for evaluations that included dictations, reading and problem solving, reflecting a collaborative work between the literacy teachers and the school managers.