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
AuthorsDaliri-Ngametua, Rafaan, Wescott, Stephanie and Heffernan, Amanda
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.

KeywordsStandardised testing; NAPLAN; data; teachers; accountability; use
Year01 Jan 2023
JournalJournal of Education Policy
Journal citationpp. 1-18
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1464-5106
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 accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range1-18
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online30 Oct 2023
Publication process dates
Accepted16 Oct 2023
Deposited16 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 publicationUnited Kingdom
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