Abstract
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.
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Notes
Compared to schools with a similar SES.
Indeed, there is no centralised framework for teacher evaluation, rather this is left up to the schools and boards to decide.
However, one of the schools was created through a merger of a public and a general independent school.
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This work was supported by the H2020 European Research Council [StG-2015–680172].
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Browes, N. Test-based accountability and perceived pressure in an autonomous education system: does school performance affect teacher experience?. Educ Asse Eval Acc 33, 483–509 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-021-09365-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-021-09365-9