Education Access Under the Reign of Testing and Inclusion

Across the globe, education today takes place in a setting between competing agendas: one is the testing agenda and the other is the inclusion agenda. These agendas hold major implications in terms of access to education for students all over the world.

The agendas of testing and inclusion point to a dilemma between, on the one hand, ideals about accountability, assessment, and measurable levels of success and, on the other hand, ambitions to create a school system that can support possibilities of participation and learning for all students, that is, universal education access, regardless of special needs, social background, gender, ethnicity, religion, or other defining labels.

The purposes of this research project are to 1) map and analyse this dilemma, as it is in evidence in a number of selected national contexts; 2) draw conclusions about the implications in terms of educational access; and 3) present solutions for the improvement of educational access.