The impact of large-scale assessments in education on education policy: evidence from around the world.

Over the past 50 years and following the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement’s (IEA) study of mathematics in twelve countries (Foshay et al. 1962), large-scale assessments (LSAs) have become ubiquitous. In a recent systematic review of the impact of LSAs on education policy (Best et al. 2013), it was estimated that learning assessments are now being undertaken in about 70% of the countries in the world. For example, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was implemented in 75 countries in 2015 with around 510,000 participating students and their schools. Similarly, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), conducted by the IEA, collected information from schools and students in 59 countries in 2015. Given their widespread implementation one would assume that learning assessments are well-designed, well-implemented and are having a profound policy impact. Hence, the aim of this special issue of ‘Research Papers in Education’ is to examine the link between LSAs and education policy through examples from the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East.