The myth of merit: essay on meritocracy and quality of education

• Main Author: Maíra Tavares Mendes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2018-12-01
• Series: Perspectiva
• Subjects: Mérito; Avaliação; Testes padronizados; Qualidade da educação
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/perspectiva/article/view/50608

Educational policies based on meritocratic criteria have been the focus of evaluation processes not only in Brazil, but as a global trend. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the notion of merit from three authors. In the first part are presented elements of criticism to epistemologies that are intended to be neutral in relation to educational evaluation starting from the contributions of Miriam Limoeiro-Cardoso. The second part presents the main ideas of Michael Young in a satire of meritocracy as social hierarchy. In the third part there are Diane Ravitch's criticisms on standardized tests in the United States educational system, which led to the construction of quality as a performance of excellence in measurable assessments.