Taking the experience of educational evaluating researchers as a starting point, this article identifies key findings for the design and implementation of educational policies; and takes a look at the methodological challenges that the evaluation of programs and policies for school improvement. This article recognizes that the development of educational evaluation in Chile has allowed noticing the insufficiencies of the educational reforms implemented in the last two decades and the new challenges that said reform puts in front of the of the educational evaluation in order to dig into and diversify its themes and methodological approaches. The authors affirm that it becomes an urgent matter to look deeply into the qualitative study of the schools processes at a micro level, particularly those that stop at the logic of action of the people involved, managing practices inside and outside of the classroom, occurring in schools. Then the article presents methodological considerations for the study of key practices and processes in schools and some challenges for educational policies.    

Comprehensive evaluation, school processes, effective politicies in education, Chile.