“Evaluation yes, but not like this”: Case study of a failed policy in the Mexican high school

Abstract

This article addresses one of the most heated moments in recent education policy in Mexico, framed within the 2013 Educational Reform: The performance evaluation of high school teachers across the country, and the condition that they would potentially lose their teaching position if they refused to take the evaluation or failed it. Unprecedented in its type and scope, the evaluation triggered controversy throughout the country, polarizing the population on its benefits and negative effects. The purpose of this study is to recover, through a retrospective analysis, the experience, perception, feelings, and emotions that the evaluation generated in a group of high school teachers in the state of Morelos, Mexico. A qualitative methodology was used, employing techniques like the collection of newspaper sources, official documents, and television content, as well as conducting interviews with 25 out of 34 teachers selected by the educational authority to be evaluated. Pre- and post-evaluation interviews were conducted and presented. Among the findings, it was noted that teachers were willing to be evaluated, but considered the evaluation process to be disorganized, unfair, and even punitive.