O uso de avaliações escolares ordinárias para estudar a evolução da competência em física

Abstract

The abundance of classroom exams and its close relation with the actual curriculum justify an investigation of its use in research. The aim of the present one is to investigate some possibilities and limitations of common classroom assessment to track students growth of competence in the subject of physics. Some characteristics of classroom assessments are discussed, its relation with competence and some possible advantages of its employ in contrast with other assessments or systemic evaluations. In the analysis, two kinds of assessment are used: trimestral grades and dichotomous items. For each, a longitudinal multilevel analysis is carried out and the results are compared and measured up to the literature. These comparisons indicate that classroom assessments can be used in studies that track growth of competence. There are three reservations, however, against the use of these practices: it can lead to a vague conception of competence; it can present difficulties for equalization; and it might not be adequate to a unidimensional approach. All of these reservations are sprung by limitations of the methodological design imposed by the ethics of the educational practice. Finally, study limitations are discussed.