Standardized Testing of Young Children by Stealth: Interrogating the Implications of the International Early Learning Study

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: Supporting Young Children's Learning and Development

Abstract

The OECD (2006) denounced systems that focused upon cognitive development and, the acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions in the early years, arguing that they ‘are poorly suited to the psychology and natural learning strategies of young children’ (p.13). Subsequent OECD reports (2011, 2015) represented a paradigm shift in approach to ECEC, indicating that governments should monitor and evaluate ECEC, staff performance, and children’s development in order to boost standards. A discourse of outcomes, investments and accountability had moved centre stage. This paper examines the International Learning Study (IELS) which appears to consolidate this shift in position by initiating a cross-national assessment of early learning outocmes involving the testing of children aged between 4.5 and 5.5 years.

Author

• Mary Moloney, Mary Immaculate College