A brief history of high-stakes testing and its possible futures

Education’s historical emphasis on assessments that enhance learning has evolved into a competitive, performance-driven model due to educational reforms and neoliberal influences. This trend has materialised in various forms, and one of them is high-stakes testing. Through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), the present study develops a global examination of this mechanism, in order to understand its scope and influence on the educational system. The results reveal both adverse and beneficial outcomes of high-stakes testing and, while the literature highlights unintended consequences, it also stresses the importance of its function as an accountability mechanism in the current society, implying positive aspects. Moreover, findings suggest that viable alternatives for large scale assessments extend beyond high-stakes scenarios.