Standardised testing in the context of constitutionally protected freedom of education–the case of Flanders

Abstract

Around the world governments have been observed to harness assessment to exert control over the content and quality of education. In Belgium, Flanders, with constitutionally protected freedom of education, has been an exception, having no standardised tests or end of school examinations. Recently, declining international test outcomes have been used to justify educational reforms, including the introduction of compulsory standardised tests. We consider the timing and rationale for the reforms, and the extent to which the changes fit the Global Education Reform Movement template. We conclude that the policy reforms represent an attempt by government to leverage Broadfoot’s social functions of assessment to create a different balance between school autonomy and accountability. How the reforms will interact with the educational culture in Flanders is difficult to predict but the new quantification of education will likely open the system up to further policy reforms as test data driven comparisons raise questions and demand action.