Manufacturing Inequality: An Update on Educational Standardization in the United Kingdom

• In Event: Multiple Perspectives on Accountability in Schools

Abstract

In the United Kingdom, large scale standardized assessments are continuously used by OFSTED as a measure of student success and educational leaders’ accountability. However, these assessment methods and accountability practices can contribute to the creation of inequitable conditions for disadvantaged and marginalized student populations. This case study explored which factors school leaders recognized as a barrier to their students’ academic success. The ten interviewed leaders raised three main themes. Firstly, leaders articulated how professional collaboration was hindered by the juxtaposition of distributed leadership and collaboration within a hierarchical, technocratic political system. Then, leaders raised the mismatch between governmental targets and funding for disadvantaged students. Finally, leaders demonstrated a continued use of standardized data despite recognizing its potential harms.

Authors

• Stephanie Chitpin, University of Ottawa

• Doug Archibald, University of Ottawa

• Olfa Karoui, University of Ottawa