Exploring how Chilean schools understand and experience a high-stakes school evaluation. An exploratory, qualitative methods research

: three Chilean schools case study

Abstract

High-stakes testing at school level has become increasingly popular as part of national strategies to ensure the improvement of the quality of education. Yet, the evidence about the effectiveness of this type of test is not conclusive. Although some pros and cons have been identified in different international contexts, this research seeks to be a contribution to the national discussion about the impact of high-stakes testing at school level officially first implemented in 2008 and extended in 2014 to all Chilean schools.
Drawing upon a pragmatic conception about educational policies, which are described by the practical consequences they have for actors involved in schools, this study seeks to explore the views and experiences of Headteachers, teachers, and public local administrators in education, regarding the purpose and impact associated with national high-stakes testing at school level. A qualitative inquiry based on an instrumental multiple case study approach was developed in order to address, from the understandings of participants, the following questions: (1) what are the purposes of the national high-stakes school testing in Chile? (2) what actions are experienced regarding the way in which the national curriculum is implemented at school level? Qualitative data from three schools were analysed from a multilevel perspective, which considered information from their local administrators. Thirty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted, and internal documents were analysed at school, local and national level. Data produced were analysed using Thematic Analysis.
The main findings of this research are the following. First, actors involved in this research attributed different purposes to the national high-stakes school evaluation, some of them were in tension with each other. The most significant area of conflict is perceived around the purpose of improving education and allocating incentives. The relevance of the support provided and the adequacy of actions that actors felt they should develop to improve schools’ results in national tests are questioned.
Second, and widely illustrated in international research, Chilean high-stakes school testing was associated with practices that influenced the way schools implemented the national curriculum. Overall, different actors tended to select contents and strategies for teaching and assessing students consistent with those used by national high-stakes tests as well as allocated more financial and human resources around subjects that are assessed by these national tests. Greater awareness and clarity around student learning progression was found among teachers of subjects assessed by national tests, although more evidence needs to be gathered around this. Pressure and stress related to the dynamic developed inside schools because of national tests were also expressed among professionals and across different cases.
Third, across disparate social and political contexts, national high-stakes tests exerted similar effects on the curriculum implemented by schools. Even though the three schools under study were situated in different leadership and political local contexts, actors recognised the implementation of the same kinds of practices around teaching and using of resources, which were strongly aligned to national tests. Teachers were the actors who consistently reported the greatest impact of these tests.

Date of Award	3 Oct 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Sally M Thomas (Supervisor) & Rafael Mitchell (Supervisor)