Towards a Comparative and International History of School Testing and Accountability

Abstract

Abstract:The speed and extent of modern school accountability have obscured the history of testing and accountability. This brief introduction identifies central themes of historical research into educational accountability and recurring traits associated with accountability practices. We hope our colleagues and this special issue will also help to identify future research paths in this field. Some of the central themes found in the historical research on educational accountability contained in this special issue are the connections between accountability and the purposes of schooling in a specific time and place, the relationships between school accountability structures and the state, as well as accountability as a cultural phenomenon. One of the recurring traits found in accountability practices is the role of accountability as a phenomenon that cannot be epaa aape Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 22 No. 115 2 treated in isolation from society at large along with the attendant questions of power, education access, education management, and social selection. Another key trait is that accountability practices always seem to encompass a certain historically given configuration of stakeholder positions. The research paths pointing beyond the themes treated here are identified as a postcolonial perspective, differences and similarities between public and private sector accountability measures, the "engines" promoting the rise, proliferation and implementation of accountability measures, and finally the exploration of the travelling and movement of accountability ideas, knowledge and practices and how they actually impact and connect with national, regional and local practices. Keywords: Accountability, testing, history of education, comparative education Hacia una historia comparada e internacional de los exámenes escolares y los modelos de responsabilidad académica Resumen: La velocidad y el grado de extensión de los modelos de responsabilidad académica de la escuela moderna han oscurecido la historia de los exámenes escolares y del concepto de responsabilidad académica. Esta breve introducción identifica temas centrales de la investigación histórica sobre los modelos de responsabilidad educativa y rasgos recurrentes asociados con las prácticas de rendición de cuentas. Esperamos que nuestros colegas y este número especial también ayuden a identificar líneas de investigación futuras en este campo. Algunos de los temas centrales que se encuentran en la investigación histórica en la responsabilidad educativa contenida en este número especial son las conexiones entre la rendición de cuentas y los efectos de la escolarización en un tiempo y lugar específico, las relaciones entre las estructuras de rendición de cuentas de la escuela y el estado, así como la rendición de cuentas como un fenómeno cultural. Uno de los rasgos recurrentes que se encuentran en las prácticas de rendición de cuentas es el papel de la rendición de cuentas como un fenómeno que no puede ser tratada en forma aislada de la sociedad en gen...

The discursive construction of lower-tracked students: Ideologies of meritocracy and the politics of education

“…This study contributes to ongoing discussions in this journal and elsewhere about how ideologies shape discourse through which education policies, systems, and practices affect students' opportunities and futures in complex, multi-layered ways (e.g., Bertrand, Perez, & Rogers, 2015;Dorn & Ydesen, 2014;Oakes, Wells, Jones, & Datnow, 1997;Spillane, 2012). It also offers theoretical and practical implications beyond the Singaporean context, in part, due to the neo-liberal and meritocratic ideologies driving education and political systems worldwide (Apple, 2006;Hursh, 2007;Koh, 2011) in which market-based discourses frame education in terms of maximizing resources toward greatest economic growth and competition.…”

Logics of accountability: Cross-national patterns in school-level controls

“…Research has highlighted debates around decentralization in relation to a wide range of school reforms in the global context. While motives for decentralization reforms differ according to national and local contexts of education, research findings around the world show that (1) political and administrative motivations are critical and (2) the level of decentralization ranges from national/state, to local/regional, to individual school-level authority (e.g., Bray, 2013;DeBoer, 2012;Dorn & Ydesen, 2015;Edwards & DeMatthews, 2014;Manna & McGuinn, 2013).…”

“…Responding to accountability discourses, researchers have reported theoretical debates around different forms of accountability, such as what forms of accountability ought to be considered over test-based accountability which has been dominant in education (e.g., Cranston, 2013;Fullan, Rincón-Gallardo, & Hargreaves, 2015;Sahlberg, 2007;Turnipseed & Darling-Hammond, 2015). In addition, researchers have empirically shown that there are multiple ways to achieve accountability across education systems internationally (e.g., Dorn & Ydesen, 2015;Klein, 2017;La Londe, 2017;Lim, 2016;Maroy, Pons, & Dupuy, 2017;Rasmussen & Zou, 2014;Thiel & Bellmann, 2017). Findings from these studies indicate that accountability policy implementation remains multifaceted depending on the context (Holloway et al, 2017;Klein, 2017), and therefore, the logics behind the implementation of accountability can differ based on historical backgrounds and structures of the education system.…”

A Proposed Administrative Strategy for Community Accountability Based on the Effective Schools’ Quality Performance Standards in Jordan

“…Dorn and Ydesen (2015), explored the common features and educational accountability prevalent in previous studies in the United States of America in order to identify future research directions in accountability. The study of Dorn and Ydesen (2015) revealed a positive relationship between educational accountability style and the purposes of education in some historical periods, the harmony of its organizational structure with the structure of the government, and accountability cannot operate in isolation from the community accountability that is the source of its authority, and access to educational institutions and management [12]. Additionally, accountability practices must meet the aspirations of education stakeholders; students and parents.…”