Webinars

Around the World of Accountability in 80 Minutes: An Overview of Educational Accountability in Other Countries

Organized by the NCME Committee on Informing Assessment Policy (CIAP)

This webinar will provide an informational panel discussion highlighting the diversity of educational accountability systems in several countries.  Discussion will include the policies and practices of other countries related to school autonomy, equity, and student performance.

School accountability is one of the most controversial recent reforms taking place in education systems around the world.  Differences in opinion exist of whether and which accountability practices affect equity and performance in academic achievement.  Are these differences related to differences in policy and practice?  Are they related to context and cultural?  Or is it in the interpretation of the data where these differences lie?

Understanding that the complexity of culture, community values, and interpretation of success and improvement are within the context of the society, a high level of overview of different accountability systems offers a different lens for evaluating the impact of policy and practice on student performance.  Examining the accountability systems of other countries could open the door to new ideas for How is local autonomy impacted?

Panelists:
Norman Emerson - experience of assessment system change in Scotland, Ireland as well as recent experience in Asia
William Smith - professor at the University of Edinburgh with experience and examples from multiple countries and discuss broad trends on accountability and related impacts
María Teresa Flórez Petour - assistant professor at the University of Chile with experience and examples from multiple countries including the Chilean national curriculum assessment system as well as with the Norwegian case study of the OECD-funded project ‘Governing Complex Education Systems’

Discussant:
David Rutkowski - expertise in the area of educational policy and educational assessment with specific emphasis on international large-scale assessment