Evaluación externa y bonificación docente: un análisis del programa “Educa São Luís” a la luz del SEAMA y SAEB

Abstract

This article analyzes the "Educa São Luís" Program, a municipal teacher bonus policy linked to student performance in large-scale external evaluations (SEAMA and SAEB/IDEB). Using a qualitative approach and documentary analysis, it examines the program's legal provisions, especially Municipal Decree No. 61.353/2025, which regulates the granting of financial awards based on proficiency goals and procedural conditionalities. The study demonstrates that the program fits into the logic of managerial accountability, converting evaluation results into monetary incentives and conditioning pedagogical autonomy on adherence to centralized protocols. The implications of this design are discussed, such as the focus on specific grades, pressure on teachers, potential curricular distortion, and the transformation of evaluation into a regulatory instrument, to the detriment of its formative function. It concludes that, although presented as a mechanism for teacher valorization, the program prioritizes a performative rationality, fragmenting the school collective and disconnecting from a broad conception of educational quality, which would include career, training, and working conditions.