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Partners in assessment. New actors and changing alliances in the construction of a global field

Mon, April 15, 8:00 to 9:30am, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Bay (Level 1), Bayview B

Proposal

The adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 represented a landmark in the expansion of large-scale learning assessments. The indicator framework established for the monitoring of SDG4 (Education) is unambiguous on the need for countries to adopt or participate in some form of learning assessment - so that student achievement can be reported on a globally comparable scale.

While national and international assessments have been on the rise since the mid-90s, the adoption of a new set of global goals has had a direct impact on the legitimacy of these practices - giving also a new impetus to the organizations involved in its promotion, administration and analysis. More specifically, the quantification needs brought about by the new agenda have tended to reinforce relations of political, symbolical and technical interdependence among a variety of stakeholders - including regional and global assessment consortia, aid agencies and international organizations.

So far, the links and relationships between these actors have received limited attention. While a mounting corpus of research explores the role of some of the major players in the realm of cross-national assessment (particularly the OECD and the IEA), the connections among these and other international, regional or domestic organizations have been less frequently addressed.

This paper inquires into the effects of SDG4 on the institutional agendas and relationships between the different organizations and agencies involved in the conduction of large-scale assessments. More specifically, the paper explores recent changes in the composition and structure of this community of practice or field, as entailed by the new UN education agenda. Such a transformation is analyzed in relation to four main dimensions of analysis: the development of common principles, norms and beliefs; the articulation of an institutional infrastructure enabling the exchange of ideas; the emergence of principles of hierarchization; and the development of contending approaches and fault-lines.

Methodologically speaking, the paper builds on the combination of three methods - namely, a documentary analysis of technical reports and policy briefs; 41 semi-structured interviews with key informants and representatives of these organizations; and the observation of two UNESCO-convened meetings oriented at animating debate and coordination among concerned agencies.

The results of the research suggest that, while the new UN education agenda has decisively contributed to the development of growing levels of interdependence among concerned organizations, the boundaries and organizing principles of the field are subject to significant contestation. The fact that no agency enjoys a hegemonic position, and the opening-up of the field to a wider range of stakeholders (among which private actors feature prominently), leave the space open to competitive dynamics that tend to compromise the autonomy.

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