External assessment of learning has been a subject of very different perspectives, conceptions, and assumptions, with a strong ideological orientation due to certain representations of school (Machado, 2022). In 2020, the confinements caused by covid-19 involved the displacement of external large-scale assessments in favor of formative assessments built by teachers (Cooper et al., 2022). In 2022/2023, the reintroduction of external assessments in basic and secondary education was again discussed in Portugal; and the debate about the role of external assessments in the educational system was, once again, a hot topic amongst scholar and academic communities. Considering the pressure that national examinations can generate over the functioning of educational systems, there are those who recognize benefits, and those who point out negative and perverse effects (Kellaghan et Madaus, 2003; Madaus & Russell, 2010; Mons, 2009; Rozenwajn & Dumay, 2014; Stobart & Eggen, 2012). Yet, despite negative effects of exams, there is almost a natural predisposition on society to associate exams with high standards, rigor and, ultimately, a mean to ensure quality of educational systems (Fernandes, 2014). In a post-pandemic context, where the pressure of national exams for the conclusion of basic and secondary education has been temporarily relieved in Portugal, we seek to know the point of view of Portuguese school principals about the impact of this educational policy during this period. To do this, a series of 32 interviews were conducted with school principals in Portugal. With this webinar, it was presented preliminary results regarding a part of those interviews already transcribed and analyzed. Preliminary results showed that the pandemic has challenged the purposes and need of external assessments, with no consensus amongst school principals in Portugal.

With the support of the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia [Foundation for Science and Technology] through funding from Unit R&D UIDB/03126/2020 and the 2020.05847.BD PhD Scholarship.