High stakes testing, accountability, incentives and consequences in English schools

This article is concerned with high stakes testing in England, where system-wide market-oriented reforms have been introduced into the school-based education system. It focuses in particular on the consequences of such testing in terms of accountability, teaching, learning and resourcing. The article argues that not only are there serious consequences associated with the testing regime, but there are also doubts about the validity of the test results. Moreover, there are concerns about whether a focus on high stakes test results is meeting the needs of society more generally: there is a strong argument for indicators used for the purposes of accountability to tie in with the wider goals of education.