Under test-based accountability, side-effects--including practices to inflate test results, often seen as cheating--are usually associated to so-called high-stakes policies. However, the influence of different types of stakes in the generation of this type of practices has been overlooked in education research. Based on a survey experiment, our…

As the global neo-liberal reform movement in education continues to evolve, so does the simultaneous transfiguration of the profile and status of primary school teachers in England. Reform continues to delineate the aims and purpose of primary education in increasingly essentialist terms. This paper explores English primary school teachers'…

This study examines international brain race for world-class universities as measured by the QS World University Rankings (QS) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, particularly in the context of Asian nations' institutional competition and benchmarking against American counterparts. Applying mixed methods with statistical analysis of…

This study analyses how studies on disadvantaged schools, improvement and test-based accountability relate to each other. The analysis covers 69 studies on disadvantaged schools reported in prestigious educational journals and conducted in 1995-2015. Educational policies related to evaluation and accountability define the official goals of…

Media reportage often act as interpretations of accountability policies thereby making the news media a part of the policy enactment process. Within such a process, their role is that of policy reinforcement rather than policy construction or contestation. This paper draws on the experiences of school leaders in regional Queensland, Australia, and…

Higher education (HE) is a global enterprise. Its success (or failure) is integral to and a powerful indicator of the knowledge-producing and talent-attracting capacity of nations. But, the landscape in which HE operates today has become extremely complex; there are many more demands and many constituencies, each with an impact on and a voice in…

This report informs The Hon Alan Tudge MP, Minister for Education and Youth; the Parliament of Australia; the Australian higher education community; and the general public about the performance of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA or the agency) during the financial year ending 30 June 2021. Prepared according to…

Paul Leather is New Hampshire's deputy commissioner of education. In this article he writes that he believes education policymakers over the past few decades have made two critical decisions that have had deep, deleterious effects on the overall public education system. First, by demanding that each school be evaluated based on a single externally…

In the present study we provide an interpretation of a general narrative of transnational governance of higher education. All the elements of the narrative--competition, ranking autonomy and accountability--are visibly present in contemporary higher education policy agenda. We examine these not as separate ideas and practices but as an interlinked…

This research analyzes the impact of the Adjusted Voucher Law´s school rankings on low-performing schools in Santiago, Chile, and provides evidence on the effects of the pressures of accountability systems on teacher policies and practices. The empirical strategy is based on the fact that schools are ranked according to their position on a set of…

Graduation from high school is an important achievement for students, and one that has implications for their future educational opportunities and earnings. For the last two decades, graduation rates have also been among the metrics used to evaluate school effectiveness under federal law, with the aim of ensuring that all students receive a…

This report describes the progress made over the course of 2018-19 to advance national action to assure the quality of higher education in Australia. It informs The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Education, the Parliament of Australia, the Australian higher education community, and the general public about the performance of the Tertiary Education…

In this study, four recent self-initiated educational quality projects at Swedish universities are compared and analyzed. The article focuses on how the universities have handled the tension between external demands and internal norms. The aim is to contribute to an improved understanding of quality management in contemporary universities. On the…

This report informs the Hon Dan Tehan, Minister for Education, the Parliament of Australia, the Australian higher education community and the general public about the performance of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA or the agency) during the financial year ending June 30, 2018. Prepared according to parliamentary reporting…

While boards have to delegate the daily administration of athletics programs to their presidents, they must be aware of the issues and involve themselves in policy considerations that properly belong to them and can ultimately have a major impact on the institution's financial welfare and reputation. The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate…