Introduction: The Advantages and Disadvantages of National Education Policymaking Informed by International Achievement Studies

Abstract

The rapid expansion of national participation in international achievement studies has been a hallmark of educational accountability and planning in countries around the world for the past 25 years. Since the IEA's first international studies on mathematics and science achievement in the late 1960s, the availability and use of international achievement studies for national education policy has exploded (DeBoer, “Why the Fireworks?: Theoretical Perspectives on the Explosion in International Assessments”; Smith & Baker, 2001; Wiseman & Baker, 2005). The most widely adopted studies are now administered on regular cycles and include participating countries from every region and level of development around the world.

Citation

Wiseman, A.W. (2010), "Introduction: The Advantages and Disadvantages of National Education Policymaking Informed by International Achievement Studies", Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) The Impact of International Achievement Studies on National Education Policymaking (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. xi-xxii. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3679(2010)0000013003