The Intersection of International Achievement Testing and Educational Policy Development in England

Since the 1990s, England’s school system has been shaped by policies oriented to increase decentralization, school autonomy, and central control of school curriculum and accountability frameworks through national pupil assessment and high-stakes school inspections. Initially, IEA and other international comparative studies were perceived as academic research used to contrast national assessments and inform policy changes, such as the 1996 National Literacy and Numeracy strategies. However, since 2006, policymakers increasingly use OECD PISA results to justify new policy initiatives. From 2014, the revised National Curriculum and assessment in England is now explicitly linked to international standards.