Anti-Standardization and Testing Opt-out Movements in Education - Special Issue - Resistance, Disputes and Transformation

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

This special-issue study investigates how COVID disruption altered performance-based education accountability systems and whether it opened new possibilities for groups organizing against high-stakes testing. The analysis draws on two research projects following primary schools in England during 2020–2021, tracking how pandemic conditions can enable dismantling high-risk assessment and accountability regimes. It also examines how research contributes to building a case for policy change and how knowledge-making processes shifted for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Researching the Prospects for Change

Performance-based accountability and disruption from COVID

Research projects and findings for primary schools in England

Knowledge-making for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers

SPECIAL ISSUE Anti-Standardization and Testing Opt-out Movements in Education: Resistance, Disputes and Transformation education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 30 Number 139 | September 6 , 2022 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | --- | Researching the Prospects for Change that COVID Disruption has Brought to High Stakes Testing and Accountability Systems Gemma Moss UCL Institute of Education United Kingdom Citation: Moss, G. (2022). Researching the prospects for change that COVID disruption has brought to high stakes testing and accountability systems. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30(139). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6320](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6320) This article is part of the special issue Testing Opt-out Movements: Resistance, Disputes and Transformation, guest edited by Javier CamposMartínez, Alejandra Falabella, Jessica Holloway, and Diego Santori. Abstract: This paper explores the disruption that COVID has brought to the normal functioning of performance-based accountability systems and asks whether this has created new possibilities for those organising against the use of high stakes testing in education. Drawing on a sequence of research projects 1 exploring primary schools’responses to the pandemic in England during 2020-21, this article considers the ways in 1 The two projects were: A Duty of Care and a Duty to Teach: Educational Priorities in Response to the Covid-19 Crisis, Funder: UKRI/ ESRC. Reference number: ES/V00414X/1. Learning through Disruption: Rebuilding Primary Education Using Local Knowledge, Funder: UKRI/ ESRC. Reference number: ES/W002086/1 . The researchers were: Gemma Moss, Alice Bradbury, Annette Braun, Sam Duncan, Sinead Harmey, Rachael Levy, UCL Institute of Education; Rebecca Allen, Teacher Tapp. Figures in the paper stem from Moss et al. (2020), with acknowledgements to Rebecca Allen. which the pandemic creates new conditions for dismantling high stakes testing and accountability regimes, and the role of research in making the case for change. Keywords: performance-based accountability; COVID-19; education policy Investigar las posibilidades de cambio que la interrupción de COVID ha traído alos sistemas de evaluación y rendición de cuentas de alto riesgo Resumen: Este documento explora la interrupción que COVID ha traído alfuncionamiento normal de los sistemas de rendición de cuentas basados en el desempeñoy se pregunta si esto ha creado nuevas posibilidades para quienes se organizan contra el uso de pruebas de alto riesgo en la educación. Basándose en una secuencia de proyectos de investigación que exploran las respuestas de las escuelas primarias a la pandemia en Inglaterra durante 2020-21, este artículo considera las formas en que la pandemia crea nuevas condiciones para desmantelar los regímenes de evaluación y rendición de cuentas de alto riesgo, y el papel de la investigación en la defensa del cambio. Palabras clave: rendición de cuentas basada en el desempeño; COVID; política educativa Pesquisando as possibilidades de mudança que a interrupção do COVID trouxe para sistemas de teste e accountability de alto risco Resumo: Este artigo explora a ruptura que o COVID trouxe ao funcionamento normal dos sistemas deaccountability baseados em desempenho e pergunta se isso criou novas possibilidades para aqueles que se organizam contra o uso de testes de alto risco naeducação. Com base em uma sequência de projetos de pesquisa que exploram as respostas das escolas primárias à pandemia na Inglaterra durante 2020-21, este artigo considera as maneiras pelas quais a pandemia cria novas condições para desmantelar os testes de alto risco e os regimes de responsabilização e o papel da pesquisa na defesa da mudança. Palavras-chave: accountability baseada no desempenho; COVID; política educacional Researching the Prospects for Change that COVID Disruption h

FAQs

What disruption did COVID create for performance-based education accountability systems?

COVID disrupted the normal functioning of performance-based accountability systems in education, raising questions about new opportunities for opposition to high-stakes testing.

Which education context does the paper focus on and why?

The paper focuses on primary schools, because in England they remain strongly connected to their immediate local communities during periods of disruption.

How does the paper use research projects to assess prospects for change?

It draws on two research projects that document school actions during lockdown through reopening, and then considers how those experiences support arguments for dismantling high-stakes testing and accountability regimes.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca