Across the globe, education quality has become synonymous with student performance. The shift towards test-based accountability (TBA) has changed what is required of schools and what it means to be a ‘good teacher’. Different tools may trigger a performance orientation within schools, from administrative (such as the Inspectorate) to market (schools competing for students). It is logical to assume that TBA policies will be interpreted and enacted differently in schools at different ends of the performance spectrum, and this, in turn will affect the expectations on teachers and the pressures they feel. Based on interviews with teachers (n = 15), principals (n = 4) and the school board (n = 1), this study compares the experiences of teachers in two ‘high’ and two ‘low’ performing primary schools under the same management in one Dutch city. Findings reveal that the schools respond differently to TBA, and are facing different performance pressures, yet in all four, test data was found to significantly shape educational practices. It was further found that teachers experience pressure in different ways; however, it cannot be said that those in high-performing schools experience less pressure compared to those in low-performing schools, or vice versa. Rather, teachers’ experience of pressure is more closely connected to their schools’ logics of action: the practices the schools adopted in response to accountability measures and their relative market position.

在全球范围内，教育质量已成为学生表现的代名词。向基于考试的问责制 (TBA) 的转变已经改变了对学校的要求以及成为“好老师”的意义。不同的工具可能会触发学校内部的绩效导向，从行政（如督察）到市场（学校竞争学生）。可以合理地假设，TBA 政策将在表现范围不同端的学校中以不同的方式解释和制定，这反过来又会影响对教师的期望和他们感受到的压力。基于对教师 ( n  = 15)、校长 ( n  = 4) 和学校董事会 ( n = 1)，这项研究比较了荷兰一个城市中同一管理下两所“高”和两所“低”表现小学的教师的经验。调查结果显示，学校对 TBA 的反应不同，并面临不同的表现压力，但在所有四个中，测试数据被发现显着影响了教育实践。进一步发现，教师以不同的方式承受压力；然而，不能说与表现不佳的学校相比，表现优异的学校的学生承受的压力较小，反之亦然。相反，教师的压力体验与其学校的行动逻辑更密切相关：学校为应对问责措施而采取的做法及其相对市场地位。