‘Until now, nobody’s ever actually said straight out how do you feel about them’: children’s experiences of the impact of high-stakes testing through participatory methods

Research into the impact of high-stakes testing is often adult-centric. Using participatory methods with 10-11 year olds, this paper demonstrates how research with children provides a more nuanced understanding of the impacts of high-stakes testing on wellbeing, curriculum and pedagogy. This paper also demonstrates how children have an implicit understanding of the mechanisms of neoliberalism and how these mechanisms lead to competition with peers, which can exclude lower attaining children. We recommend further participatory research with children to inform wider policy and that schools develop children’s emotional literacy to help them to manage peer relations around high-stakes testing.