How do school educators experience high-stakes testing? A case study of the Australian New South Wales Higher School Certificate in two independent schools

In recent decades, neoliberal principles of managerialism and performativity have become identifiable features of education, especially in Anglophone countries. The rise of neoliberal-informed practices in education has been based on the belief that students perform better academically when they are exposed to accountability, competition and scrutiny. One manifestation of this approach to education has been the increasing prevalence of high-stakes testing. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the effects of high-stakes testing on students, curricula, and education outcomes. However, most of this research has been done in the United States. In addition, most researchers to date have focused on the effects of high-stakes testing on students who are in their junior and middle years of schooling.

In this study, the researcher examined the Australian experience of high-stakes testing, with a particular focus on the New South Wales Higher (NSW) School Certificate (HSC), which students in that state sit in their final year of schooling. In the process, the researcher has contributed to filling a gap in the existing literature on high-stakes testing. Specifically, the researcher examined how the Higher School Certificate (HSC) results in a programmatic approach to learning in secondary schools in New South Wales. In addition, the researcher examined how educators at schools in New South Wales (NSW) experience this approach to learning.

The theoretical framework used in this study was hermeneutic phenomenology, which the researcher deemed the best way to access the experiences of school educators. Through a case study conducted in two school settings, the researcher probed the experiences of school educators in secondary schools in NSW. In the process, the researcher identified how these experiences affected educators’ understanding of the purpose, principles and practices associated with the Higher School Certificate (HSC) as a form of high-stakes testing.

Background knowledge of the high-stakes nature of the HSC was gathered through an analysis of relevant documents, preliminary interviews with senior representatives of the three education sectors in NSW (i.e., state, Catholic and independent schools), and an indicative survey conducted with staff at both school sites. Data were generated from focus group interviews with school leaders and middle managers, along with semi-structured interviews with teachers. Data were analysed through a double hermeneutic process in order to interpret participant experiences of the HSC as an example of high-stakes testing.

Based on findings from this research, it appears that the high-stakes nature of the HSC has profound effects on teaching and learning in secondary schools in NSW. Specifically, the HSC affects what teachers in these schools do, how they do it, and their rationale for their approach to teaching. Many teachers in secondary schools in NSW seek to counter the effects of the HSC, adopting a more holistic approach to student learning. Even so, high-stakes testing in NSW secondary schools has resulted in a distorted curriculum, whereby the HSC has become the defining feature of senior secondary schooling in NSW.