The Future of International Achievement Testing, Educational Policy Development, and Large-Scale Reform

This edited volume presented national profi les from scholars in nine countries: Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands, US, Canada, and New Zealand. As previously noted, the national profi les were written by noted experts in the fi eld who are actively engaged in research. Each of the national profi les provided a brief overview of the structure of public schooling and the administrative processes used to determine curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment at the national and/or regional level; explained the genesis and evolution of international achievement testing (i.e., PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS) within their respective national context; and discussed the “actions and reactions” that have stemmed from the performance of students on international benchmark tests. In doing so, the contributors were charged with examining the intersection of international achievement testing and education policy development within their respective national context. Collectively, these national profi les converged with previous research (see Baird et al., 2011; Breakspear, 2012; Martens & Niemann, 2013; Volante, in press), which suggests a range of policy responses exist to international achievement testing programs. It was also readily apparent that particular international achievement testing programs exert a more pronounced infl uence on educational policy development both within and across countries. In essence, a gradient of policy responses is tied to individual testing programs, particularly PISA, at the national and international level.