The Global Testing Culture

"The global testing culture permeates all areas of education, reconceptualizing the role of educational actors, the aims of education, and the accepted practices of education, as well as the general position of education in society. Characterized by census-based standardized testing with links to high-stakes outcomes, the global testing culture can be seen in the expansion of testing and accountability systems around the world and the increasingly 'common-sense' notion that testing is synonymous with accountability, which is synonymous with education quality. This chapter describes the foundational attributes, including the core assumptions, values, and cultural models, that define the normative expectations of actors in the global testing culture. The final section introduces the rest of the volume, which seeks to explore how the global testing culture is embedded in and reinforced by policy and practices of stakeholders at all levels, and to provide case studies exploring the incorporation of testing in national contexts." -- From Chapter 1 abstract.