Common standards, different stakes: A comparative and multi-scalar analysis of accountability reforms in the Spanish education context

Abstract

An increasing number of countries are adopting accountability systems in education that rely on the external evaluation of students’ learning outcomes through standardized assessments. The international dissemination of this form of accountability, often known as test-based accountability, does not imply that exactly the same policy is adopted everywhere. Accountability reforms, as any other globalizing policy model, are context-specific. The concrete form that accountability reforms adopt is contingent on a range of political, historical and institutional conditions, and to policy-making dynamics and logics that operate at multiple scales. This paper analyzes the trajectory of accountability reforms in two Spanish regions, Madrid and Catalonia, from a comparative and multi-scalar perspective. Based on document analysis of media and official sources, and exploratory interviews with key informants, the paper shows that, although these two regions have pioneered the adoption of test-based accountability reforms in the Spanish context, their accountability systems have evolved quite differently. While accountability reforms in Madrid have been oriented toward the promotion of school choice and competition, Catalonia has adopted an uneven lower-stakes accountability approach with multiple ramifications. In this paper, we explain how and why such diverging trends have been possible within the context of a common general regulatory framework.

The instrumentation of global education reforms: an analysis of school autonomy with accountability policies in Spanish education

“…Spain has not been an early adopter of NPM reforms in education. However, over the last few decades, different Spanish regions are adopting test-based accountability, school autonomy and pro-school choice policies, following an NPM approach (Luengo & Saura, 2012;Prieto & Villamor, 2018;Verger & Curran, 2014;Verger et al, 2020). The analysis provided in this paper contributes to current debates on the policy process of SAWA reforms and the use of accountability policy instruments in Madrid, that have profound political implications.…”

“…Interestingly, school autonomy, despite not being central to Spanish education legislation traditionally, is progressively gaining in importance (Bolívar, 2006;Prieto & Villamor, 2018;Verger et al, 2020). SAWA policies are becoming more common among both the Left and the Right in Spanish education, even though the classic political dualism remains in its different interpretations and implementations.…”

“…The CDI was designed as an external, standardised and census-based evaluation, having been implemented in the 6th Grade of primary education since 2005 and in the 3rd grade of secondary education since 2008. The transparency of the test results in different formats and the publication of a school ranking during the first period of the reform developed a model of high stakes accountability, generating great opposition amongst teachers' unions, pedagogic associations and families (Verger et al, 2020). Together with the introduction of TBA, a 'back to basics' curriculum model was enacted through the introduction of the Fundamental Knowledge and Skills Standards for Spanish Language and Mathematics "aimed, in a very significant manner, to improve the results of external evaluations" (Policy Document 4).…”

“…The study of educational reform in Madrid is relevant for two main reasons. Firstly, Madrilenian education reform is a paradigmatic example of a marketoriented SAWA model, based on pro-school choice policies and accountability mechanisms (Verger et al, 2020), under the assumption that "school choice combined with external performance standards measured by standardised tests, leads to better learning for all" (Sahlberg, 2016, p. 137). Secondly, Madrid is an exception in the context of Spanish education, traditionally more reluctant to carry out market-based accountability reforms.…”

El Papel De La Ocde en La Difusión Internacional De Políticas Educativas: El Caso De La Autonomía Escolar Con Rendición De Cuentas

“…Como tal, PISA ha contribuido a la reconfiguración de las evaluaciones nacionales a nivel de país. Países tan diversos como Brasil (Kauko, Rinne y Takala, 2018), España (Verger, Prieto, Pagès y Villamor, 2020), Chile (Parcerisa y Falabella, 2017) y Canadá (Martino y Rezai-Rashti, 2013), han adoptado evaluaciones nacionales a imagen y semejanza de PISA, o han ajustado sus evaluaciones nacionales a la metodología y carácter competencial de PISA. La adaptación estratégica de las evaluaciones nacionales existentes a la metodología y los estándares de PISA es percibida como una forma de modernizar el sistema de evaluación nacional, pero también de fortalecer la competitividad de los países en la carrera educativa global.…”