¿Qué Hacemos con el Cuchillo? Las Finalidades de la Evaluación. (Spanish)

What do We do With the Knife? The Purpose of the Evaluation. (English)

The article focuses on the analysis of the importance of the purposes of the evaluation. That is, deciphering the keys to why it is done, what it is intended to achieve. More important than evaluating a lot and evaluating well, it is important to know who benefits and who harms the evaluation, what values it builds and what values it destroys. The metaphor of the knife allows us to discover that the most important thing is not its size or whether it is more or less sharp but what it is used for since with it you can hurt or kill, peel potatoes or cut watermelon, keep it stored in a drawer or free to a bound prisoner. Two images are analyzed through which you can easily understand the nature of the thesis that I defend in the article: there is nothing more stupid than launching yourself with the greatest efficiency in the wrong direction. Through an exercise, the contrast between ideal and real goals, rich and poor, valued and practiced, is shown. In it can be seen that the most theoretically valued are not the most practiced in the educational systems of many countries. Four categories of purposes are proposed below, ordered from greatest to least pedagogical richness, inviting you to practice those of greatest value. And it closes with some suggestions for teachers to practice the most enriching functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La metáfora del cuchillo nos permite descubrir que lo más importante no es su tamaño o que esté más o menos afilado sino para qué se usa ya que con él se puede herir o matar, pelar patatas o partir sandía, tenerlo guardado en un cajón o liberar a un prisionero maniatado. Se analizan dos imágenes a través de las cuales se puede comprender fácilmente la naturaleza de la tesis que defiendo en el artículo: no hay nada más estúpido que lanzarse con la mayor eficacia en la dirección equivocada. A través de un ejercicio se muestra el contraste entre finalidades ideales y reales, ricas y pobres, valoradas y practicadas. En él se puede comprobar que las más valoradas teóricamente no son las más practicadas en los sistemas educativos de muchos países. Se plantean a continuación, cuatro categorías de finalidades, ordenadas de mayor a menor riqueza pedagógica, invitando a practicar las de mayor valor. Y se cierra con algunas sugerencias para que los docentes practiquen las funciones más enriquecedoras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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