The tail wagging the dog? : the affect of national testing on teachers' agency

Abstract

Australia introduced national testing in literacy and numeracy in 2008 in order to ensure that all children reached basic benchmarks. In January 2010, school results were published online, making these tests high-stakes, especially for schools likely to have poor results. In 2009, a research project was conducted on what supported and hindered teachers in a school in a low socio-economic area to take up mathematics professional development opportunities. This paper explores the impact of national testing on perceptions of teachers’ agency, particularly the constraints it imposed on taking up these opportunities.