The impact of accessibility barriers on learning outcomes in Grade 5: An analysis of national results from Brazil’s Basic Education Assessment System (SAEB) 2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i1.50566Keywords:
Pedagogical Accessibility, Basic Education Assessment System, Educational Inequality, Learning, Assistive Technology.Abstract
Large-scale assessments have become central instruments in the governance of contemporary education systems, shaping curricular policies, resource allocation, and accountability strategies. In Brazil, the Basic Education Assessment System (SAEB) is the main mechanism for monitoring student performance in reading and mathematics. The 2019 SAEB results reveal persistent weaknesses in the consolidation of foundational learning outcomes as early as Grade 5, a critical stage for subsequent educational trajectories. This study aims to analyze national SAEB 2019 results for Grade 5 from the perspective of pedagogical and curricular accessibility, arguing that a substantial portion of the observed low performance stems from structural barriers to curriculum access rather than solely from individual student factors. This quantitative descriptive documentary study is based on the analysis of official aggregated data published by the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (INEP). Findings indicate national proficiency averages below expected levels and consistent differences associated with school network composition, revealing structural inequalities in educational opportunities. The study concludes that the absence of systematic pedagogical accessibility policies contributes to silent educational exclusion and underscores the need to integrate Universal Design for Learning and Assistive Technologies as structural components of equity-oriented educational policies from the early years of schooling.
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