High stakes assessment in the era of COVID-19: interruption, transformation, regression or business as usual?

Abstract

Editing a Special Edition is always interesting but, on the whole, it follows a fairly similar pattern. The Editors identify a theme, debate how that theme might be explored through different lenses in different contexts, receive papers that reflect a variety of positions, and write the Editorial that is largely consistent with the original planning expectation and publish. The construction of this Special Edition was nothing like that. When, as Editors, we began thinking through what articles in this Special Edition on the impact of COVID on high-stakes assessment internationally might report, our starting point was to see COVID as a disruptor. Coming from Ireland and Scotland where, in both countries, the impact of COVID on our high-stakes assessment systems had been significant, we assumed that this would be an international phenomenon. High Stakes Assessment in the Era of COVID: Interruption, Transformation or Regression?, the title of the call we put out when commissioning papers, on reflection, is a good indication of the beliefs we held. Internationally, press coverage, spoke of the COVID challenges and the multiple ways in which societies, and within societies, education was being disrupted. We anticipated that the nature of that disruption would vary: in all societies, COVID would interrupt normal practices, but in some, that disruption would lead to transformation, to the creation of new practices in high-stakes assessment environments that are traditionally regarded as risk averse; whereas, in other societies, COVID interruption might drive practices back to territory that was regarded as safer ground, regressing to assessment approaches that were perceived to be more secure whether or not these practices were educationally desirable (IEAN, 2021). As Editors, we did not and do not challenge the position that COVID globally interrupted societies, in some societies in devastating ways. There is nothing positive about a global pandemic and we do not underestimate the impact that COVID has had physically and emotionally on educational experiences and the mental health and wellbeing of everyone in the education system; young people, their parents, teachers and lecturers. Those whose work was in the specific area of high-stakes assessment were