Abstract

The article adresses currently predominant means of construction of education policy from a critical perspective, drawing on the results of a study that analyses the case of the national curriculum assessment system in Chile (SIMCE). In particular, we focus on those findings that reveal the predominance of a top-down approach to the understanding of education policy. We argue that this approach raises issues related to social justice, especifically in the dimension of parity of participation. As an alternative approach, a case related to a second project is presented, which consists of the participatory construction of the bases for a large-scale assessment system with a formative purpose, developed in the Municipality of Valparaiso, Chile. On the basis of this experience, the need for more democratic and, therefore, more socially just processes of policy construction is highlighted.