Educational policy for high school

reform, Enem, and curriculum in the neoliberal context

Abstract

Focusing on the teaching-learning process of contemporary Brazilian youth, this study analyzes the average scores in the area of Human Sciences and their technologies (History, Geography, Sociology, and Philosophy) and the essay scores from the microdata of the National High School Exam (Enem) from 2017 to 2023, provided by the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP). The objective was to speculate on the effects of the High School Reform (2017) and the adjustments promoted by the National High School Education Policy (2024), in the context of neoliberal rationality, which influences educational policy. The results indicate that the overall average in Human Sciences indicates a decline from 2018 to 2019. In contrast, the essay shows an increase in the average score during this period, stabilizing in 2020 and growing until 2022, with no significant variation in 2023. Thus, no causal relationship is established between Enem performance and the High School Reform.