CHALLENGES FOR EDUCATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN LATIN AMERICA

The gap between what is considered education quality and the initiatives that have been implemented in order to assess it in Latin America is getting wider every year. From that point of view, in this paper we will expose the necessity of having a global and comprehensive approach to assessment. In this sense, we will present principles and criteria that have to support this assessment and that have to be coherent with life-long learning principles, universal education and the complete development of students as a goal. We will also suggest four subjects that strike us as priorities in order to improve the assessment of education quality: teacher assessment, student assessment at school, and school administration assessment; appreciation of society involvement in assessment; approaching the study of associated factors; and establishing the necessity of social involvement in the design of assessment policies.