On the uses and use of NAPLAN : the hidden effects of test-based data-centric accountabilities
Journal article
Daliri-Ngametua, Rafaan, Wescott, Stephanie and Heffernan, Amanda. (2023). On the uses and use of NAPLAN : the hidden effects of test-based data-centric accountabilities. Journal of Education Policy. pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2023.2273499
Authors | Daliri-Ngametua, Rafaan, Wescott, Stephanie and Heffernan, Amanda |
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Abstract | This paper engages, Sara Ahmed’s theorising on ‘the uses of use’ to frame an analysis of the hidden, embedded effects of standardised testing policy that have become normative practice/s in Queensland, Australia. It (re)examines data from an ethno-case study into the datafication of assessment and learning over one school year, in primary and secondary schooling contexts, to understand the uses of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in a new, critical light. We explore schools’ contemporary uses of NAPLAN – intended or otherwise – to demonstrate how the policy effects of NAPLAN have become insidiously submerged within the daily practices in schools. Drawing on interviews with 27 teachers and seven school leaders, classroom and staff meeting observations, and artefact data, we reveal the invisible yet profoundly altering presence of NAPLAN and its consequences. Specifically, we analyse the ways in which NAPLAN practices, structures and technologies are both hidden and yet manifestly altering as a) practices that disappear into their uses, becoming unidentifiable and routine; and b) practices that follow well-used pathways that further embed particular uses. We counter rhetoric of NAPLAN normativity and complacency, instead demonstrating that its current uses, while not originally intended, are insidious and profound. |
Keywords | Standardised testing; NAPLAN; data; teachers; accountability; use |
Year | 01 Jan 2023 |
Journal | Journal of Education Policy |
Journal citation | pp. 1-18 |
Publisher | Routledge |
ISSN | 1464-5106 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2023.2273499 |
Web address (URL) | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02680939.2023.2273499 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Research or scholarly | Research |
Page range | 1-18 |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 30 Oct 2023 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 16 Oct 2023 |
Deposited | 16 Aug 2024 |
Additional information | © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. |
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any med-ium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this articlehas been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. | |
Place of publication | United Kingdom |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/90wy0/on-the-uses-and-use-of-naplan-the-hidden-effects-of-test-based-data-centric-accountabilities
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Publisher's version
OA_Daliri-Ngametua_2023_On_the_uses_and_use_of.pdf | |
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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