language “saber tests”: possibilities and challenges from the formative evaluation perspective

This article presents the qualitative research focused on establishing and characterizing the relations and tensions which emerging between Language “Saber tests” (Third and Fifth grade) and the elementary school teachers’ assessment practices, using the application of a mixt questionnaire to the teachers of level of the mentioned level of education and a semistructured interview to four experts. The categories: assessment and communicative competence guide the construction of the theoretical frame, besides they are fundamental in the analysis of information made through the dimensions of educational criticism proposed by Eisner in his book: The ilustrated eye (1998). In the conclusions, the assessment is raised as a source of learning, making notice the importance of the pedagogical reflexion about the use of the tests and its results in our country.