With the rise of accountability measures in education, many policymakers have also argued the need to record, assess, and certify students' holistic development. However, using China as a case, we caution how a policy-driven reform on the assessment of holistic development might fall into the pitfall of performativity. Borrowing from Ball's (Ball,…

Through a landscape analysis and content analysis, this study investigated informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education funding and evaluation policies. The primary objectives of this study were to identify informal STEM education funding organizations, and to examine funding priorities and evaluation policies…

Educational leaders are increasingly expected to use school climate data to improve outcomes and promote equity for all learners, including in California where school climate is included in state accountability policy. In this study, beliefs towards school climate assessment were explored in a sample (n=298) of California superintendents using a…

In this study, the South Korean policy of evaluating the nation's entire teacher education programmes regularly, which was introduced amid the globalization and rising popularity of neoliberal education reforms, was examined. Over the years, this policy has been criticized widely for its minimal impact on transforming teacher education. Employing…

In education research test scores are a common object of analysis. Across studies test scores can be an important outcome, a highly predictive covariate, or a means of assigning treatment. However, test scores are a measure of an underlying proficiency we can't observe directly and so contain error. This measurement error has implications for how…

In this paper we explore the concept of the middle tier in education systems, outlining how it is a crucial element that links high-level education policy to the practices that are carried out in schools. Reflecting on the similarities and differences in the profiles of the middle tiers of the four nations of the United Kingdom (UK), we observe…

COVID-19 upended schooling across the United States, but with what consequences for the state-level institutions that drive most education policy? This paper reports findings on two related research questions. First, what were the most important ways state government education policymakers changed schools and schooling from the moment they began…

This book examines the idea of educational accountability in higher education, which has become a new secular gospel. But do accountability policies actually make colleges better? What if educational accountability tools don't actually measure what they're supposed to? What if accountability data isn't valid, or worse, what if it's meaningless?…

Nationally, teachers have experienced major changes in how their performance is evaluated. Teacher satisfaction with the evaluation system likely influences whether they will use the evaluation data to make instructional improvements, yet we know little about teachers' perceptions of their evaluations. Using survey data from Chicago Public…

Accountability policy and its negative effects on teachers' working lives and retention is internationally recognised as a problem in education with school evaluation and inspection being a particular issue, particularly in England. Research suggests that the school inspection system Ofsted impacts negatively on the health and well-being of staff…

Using narrow test scores as the only means of accountability does not serve students, teachers, or schools. Jonathan E. Collins writes that policy makers and educators should consider accountability as an education system designed to be accountable to the best version of students. This means assessing outcomes that policy makers too easily…

Background or Context: Federal and state reforms have expanded accountability systems for school districts, schools, and teachers. However, there is little evidence that the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems relying on measures of student learning and measures of teaching practice, with differentiated performance categories and…

This article is an introduction to a European Educational Research Journal special issue on accountability policies and instruments in Europe. Two hypotheses grounded in the new institutionalist theory are presented to conceptualise and analyse the variety of national trajectories and forms of accountability in four European education systems…

At this transformational moment in history, this report takes time to center Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) within the assessment realm; from teaching and learning experiences to internal and external mandates, from accreditation requirements to advocacy and agency. This work requires more than a statement composed of…

This article examines the needs in New York State for public policy to address disparities in educational outcomes, opportunities to learn and appropriate evaluations that assess student readiness to advance in their education or work opportunities. Several proposals for educational public policy changes and practices are offered in the conclusion…