Equity and Inclusivity in European National Standardised Assessment: A context Analysis

Abstract Large-scale standardised assessments can exclude certain groups of students at various stages, from the test’s design to the analysis of its results. Students with disabilities, for example, may find it challenging to access the test due to the design or technological barriers, leading to their exclusion (Hickey, 2015). Additionally, biased or stereotyped analyses, such as the belief that girls are inherently worse at math, can exclude certain students (Villani & Carbone, 2020). The impact of these exclusion mechanisms can have significant implications for students’ learning paths and the entire school system. Over the past twenty years, there have been efforts to make large-scale standardised assessments more inclusive (Cawthon & Shyyan, 2022; Hickey, 2015). According to Cawthon and Shyyan (2022), strategies for addressing assessment accessibility aim to balance equity in testing experiences while maintaining standardised test designs. However, this balance raises questions about what is measured and the various methods available to demonstrate an understanding of that construct.