Consequences of introducing educational testing into Northern Ireland, 1973-1977

Description

This study investigated the effects of introducing standardized tests (which had rarely been used) into the educational system of Northern Ireland. The goal of the research effort was to assess the effects of standardized tests and test results on teachers, students, and parents, as well as on school policy in a new and unbiased environment. Northern Ireland was chosen because of its developed educational system (in which the English language was used) and its prior lack of standardized tests. A total of 175 primary schools and 70 secondary schools were selected. Each was assigned to one of three groups: 1) schools where tests were given and results returned, 2) schools where tests were given but results not returned, and 3) no tests were given. The influence of the testing could then be compared among these three groups. Highlights of this analysis are included in the codebook. Eight primary age-group cohorts are presented in this study, resulting in eight data files. All the files have identical formats with approximately 193 variables and logical record lengths of 629 characters.