The assessment-related logics of practice at a South West Multi-Academy Trust
Over the last 40 years there have been widescale changes to the British education system. Through the process of neoliberalisation, education has become a commodity to be bought and sold with an ever-increasing emphasis on performativity and its related measures. Within this educational market, alternative provision settings provide commissioning schools with opportunities to purchase placements and packages for pupils, who for a variety of reasons, are unable to engage in mainstream education. Alternative provision settings must evidence value for money to these schools, whilst meeting statutory inspection requirements. Assessment practices and the numerical data they generate are central within this commodified and performative climate. Following the removal of what was considered a flawed national curriculum levels system, schools in England, including the one which forms the site for this research, were tasked with the design and implementation of their own assessment systems. Considering the above, this research addresses the following questions: (1) What are the assessment-related logics of practice at a South West Multi-Academy Trust? (2) How are these logics of practice formed within the educational landscape of commodification? It gains insight from eight professionals in a South West Multi-Academy Trust. The analysis focuses on levels of assessment and an analytics of government to show how assessment logics are formed in the commodified landscape and subsequent impact of performativity on schools, professionals and pupils. The findings highlight the market function of the assessment system whereby the South West Multi-Academy Trust, through metrics, evidences progress and value for money to stakeholders and commissioners. The study highlights a lack of common understanding between staff, pupils and stakeholders and further identifies inconsistencies that exist at the judgement, decision and impact levels of assessment. In drawing conclusions, the research recommends a process of review related to the current assessment system at the South West Multi-Academy Trust and reflects on the need for a holistic model of assessment which puts the pupils at the heart of its existence. This thesis contributes to knowledge within the areas of commodification and marketisation of education and examines the implications for assessment policy and practice in alternative provision.
Assessment, Alternative Provision, Marketisation, Commodification
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