Over the past three decades Australia has developed an increasingly advanced national system of student assessments, results from which have been used to identify areas of growth, stagnation or decline in student learning. For the most part, trends in different standardised assessments have been considered in isolation. By examining literacy and…

Assessment and evaluation have always been an integral part of educational process. Quality and purposeful assessment can assist in students' learning and their achievement. While there has been a rapid growth in international, standardized student assessments in the past few decades, a large number of education systems participating in these…

Finnish students have been among the world's strongest performers on standardized assessments throughout the past decade. Consequently, educators and scholars are interested in how to explain such results. A common explanation, as seen on social media, is that Finnish educators do not regularly assess their students. This study explores educators'…

The last two decades have seen fast-moving and wholescale changes in the ways that education is now provided in French schools, in the nature of learner assessment, and in the form and scale of system evaluation. Innovation and reform have in part followed international trends, themselves triggered by the global impact of the international…

This article examines key lessons learned by Russia while developing national assessment system in education. It shows that reforms are more likely to succeed backed with sustained political support, clearly defined goals or priorities, gradual introduction, and open discussion with stakeholders. [This article was translated by Lucy Gunderson.]

Romania's education system has made impressive strides over the past two decades, with an increasing share of students mastering the basic competencies that they need for life and work. But these average improvements mask significant disparities in learning outcomes and attainment, with an increasing share of students leaving education early…