Embedding Accountability and Improvement Into Large-Scale Assessment: What Difference Does It Make?

Assessment-led reform has become one of the most widely favored strategies to promote more credible forms of public accountability (Black, 1998). Unlike the assessment agenda of the 1960s andl970s, assessment programs in the 1990s and beyond are part of a broader scheme for changing education. Large-scale assessment has become the vehicle of choice for accountability purposes around the world, and testing has become the lever for holding schools accountable for results (Firestone, Mayrowetz, & Fairman, 1998). Assessment reform, like other educational initiatives, is not singular, nor is it static. Like other reform efforts, it is caught in a maelstrom of rapid change and uncertainty. The knowledge base on assessment is being developed as the assessment procedures are being implemented, and many states, provinces, and countries are on a quest for the best approach.