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In 2004, ‘Chile bilingüe’ marked the launch of a systemfor teaching English in Chile. The goal of this language policy is to provide students with an intermediate profi ciency level upon graduation. Proficiency is measured by the ‘SIMCE de inglés’ national test, with the results indica ting a gap between private and public sector institutions. It is in this context that this article addresses this gap, fo cusing on the issue as revealed by the ‘SIMCE’ results in the province of Copiapó, as well as offering suggestions on how the gap could be narrowed. The methodology emplo yed to conduct this research is a multi-method approach, involving surveys and archival studies. The results indica te a correlation between student numbers, resources and teaching hours, and proficiency results among students. In addition, teachers provide suggestions on how to address the problem. The aim of this study is to suggest ways of making English teaching more equitable, as well as encou raging further research on the topic. En 2004, "Chile bilingüe" marcó el lanzamiento de un sistema para la enseñanza del inglés en Chile. El objetivo de esta política de idiomas es proporcionar a los estudiantes un nivel de competencia intermedio al graduarse. La competencia se mide mediante la prueba nacional "SIMCE de Inglés", y los resultados indican una brecha entre las instituciones del sector público y privado. Es en este contexto que este artículo aborda esta brecha, al abordar el tema tal como lo revelan los resultados del 'SIMCE' en la provincia de Copiapó, además de ofrecer sugerencias sobre cómo se podría cerrar la brecha. La metodología empleada para realizar esta investigación es un enfoque de múltiples métodos, que incluye encuestas y estudios de archivo. Los resultados indican una correlación entre el número de estudiantes, los recursos y las horas de enseñanza, y los resultados de competencia entre los estudiantes. Además, los maestros brindan sugerencias sobre cómo abordar el problema. El objetivo de este estudio es sugerir formas de hacer que la enseñanza del inglés sea más equitativa, así como fomentar una mayor investigación sobre el tema.

RESUMEN: Este artículo aborda las tensiones político-educativas subyacentes al Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación (SIMCE), visibilizando su rol preponderante para consolidar el mercado educacional en Chile. Se desarrollan las críticas contra esta medición nacional, destacando el rol de la Campaña Alto al SIMCE para repensar esta medición, instando a transitar desde una noción de calidad orientada al mercado, reproductora de una sociedad neoliberal, hacia una evaluación educacional que promueva la justicia social, democracia e inclusión. ABSTRACT: This article highlights educational and political tensions underlying the Chilean Education Quality Measurement System (SIMCE), which has played a crucial role in creating a free-market educational system. The main criticisms about this high-stake test are explained side-to-side the Alto al SIMCE Campaign, to rethink assessment. This way, we foster a shift from a notion of quality oriented to the market, reproducing a neoliberal society, to an educational assessment to promote social justice, democracy and inclusion.

Chile has more than two decades of assessing the quality of education through a national censal system called SIMCE. However, there are scarce studies that address this assessment system from an up-to-date concept of validity. The aim of this study was to critically analyse the validity of SIMCE, considering the unitary concept of validity, the argument-based approach, the consideration of the whole process involved in the assessment system, the inclusion of the interpretations of all the stakeholders involved in the process, and threats to validity. Interviews to key stakeholders were carried out along with analyses of official documents about SIMCE. An iterative analysis was executed on the basis of the theoretical considerations, focusing on the fairness of the assessment system as understood in international standards. Some of the main findings indicate SIMCE lacks fitness-for-purpose in relation to its aim of improving the equity of the education system. It generates negative consequences which can be detrimental to students with more learning difficulties and from more vulnerable groups. And, it does not consider in its construction the diversity of students who have to take the tests.