Policies for the evaluation of graduate education in Brazil: elements to understand the formation of the National System of Graduate Education

ABSTRACT In 2025, the main regulatory framework for Brazilian graduate education will complete 60 years. The policies implemented over the decades gave rise to a robust National Graduate Education System, considered one of the most complex and sophisticated in the world. This article presents the results of a study carried out between July 2021 and November 2022, whose purpose was to understand the formation, characteristics, and specificities of the Brazilian evaluation system. Research showed that the Brazilian model is unique in international terms. It is a top-down, centripetal, centralized system, aimed at promoting greater internal homogenization and less differentiation. Assessment is predominantly external, normative, regulatory and performance-based. The results are used to establish comparisons between courses and, in addition, to define funding.