BI-MONTHLY LARGE SCALE ASSESSMENT: ANALYSIS OF THE TRAJECTORY AND PURPOSES OF AAP AND PROVA PAULISTA

Abstract

This article analyzes the trajectory and purposes of the Avaliação da Aprendizagem em Processo (AAP) and the Prova Paulista in the São Paulo state public school system between 2011 and 2024. Through documentary research and literature review, it investigates how these bi-monthly large scale assessments were implemented, their impacts on teaching practices, and their potential contributions to improving education quality. The analysis reveals an ongoing transformation of these assessments over time, marked by the expansion of the evaluated grade levels and subjects, increased frequency, shifting purposes, broader objectives, digitalization and standardization of administration, dissemination of results to educational management bodies, and the use of data in accountability policies. The study concludes that AAP and Prova Paulista have contributed to the consolidation of a standardized teaching model, guided by control and accountability logics, which tends to undermine teachers' professional autonomy and restrict the school’s role as a space for students’ holistic development.