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SAEB, School Census, Educational Territorialization
The intense debate surrounding the quality of Basic Education provided by Brazilian public schools leads this study to focus on the relationship between the Basic Education Assessment System (SAEB), the School Census, and the territorialisation of education. This thesis departs from the premise that, when SAEB assessments, the annual data from the School Census, and territorial dimensions are not treated as convergent and interrelated elements, they produce distortions that significantly compromise diagnostic accuracy regarding the set of knowledge, skills, and competences inherent to students' performance in Basic Education. Therefore, external assessments, when considered in isolation, fail to sufficiently enhance school performance, undermining student learning and limiting the predictive capacity regarding low outcomes. In this regard, the general objective of this study is to investigate the discrepancies and impacts of the diagnostic assessments conducted by SAEB and the School Census, considering the implications of the territorialisation of education for student learning and cognitive development during the transition between the early years of primary education. To this end, data from SAEB 2023 and the School Census were analysed in conjunction with geodemographic, socioeconomic, and cultural indicators of school communities in the 5th year of 48 municipal schools in a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Data mining and descriptive and inferential statistical analyses reveal that the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) emphasises final results, disregarding territorial conditions that influence student performance. Students with lower results are generally located in areas marked by social, demographic, and economic vulnerabilities. Furthermore, infrastructure conditions reported by the School Census are also correlated with IDEB and territorialisation dimensions. The findings highlight the need for a conceptual realignment of public policies to overcome current limitations.