Longitudinal Study on Biodiversity in Ten Years of National High School Exam

Background: Biodiversity is essential for its instrumental, scientific, and political values, and its knowledge is vital to promote its preservation. Objectives: This study identified and analysed the presence of knowledge related to biodiversity in Biology and/or multidisciplinary items in the National High School Examination (ENEM) over ten years between 2009 and 2018. Design: Longitudinal study, based on qualitative methodology. Setting and participants: Education and science experts participated in the analyses. Data collection and analysis: Data were collected on the INEP website. Analyses performed by researchers and an expert panel. Results: We found a clear prevalence of the category “Ecology and Environmental Sciences” in the items, which is in agreement with the literature. However, we also found a disproportionate distribution of questions concerning the categories of the reference matrix of the discipline of Biology. Furthermore, there is significant variability in the theme in different years. We discussed the consequences for curriculum and conservation. Conclusions: There is an imbalance that reveals a dominant trend, acting as a structuring element of the questions, that silences other major areas of Biology and can influence the curriculum and practices of secondary school teachers. The high variability of the occurrence of the biodiversity theme in Biology tests suggests a non-harmonic relationship, which may be associated with the statistical demands of the IRT modelling, between the selection of questions and the reference matrix of the Biology categories, with possible consequences for the curriculum.