From Equity of Access to International Quality Standards for Curbing Corruption in Secondary and Higher Education and Closing Achievement Gaps in Post-Soviet Countries

Abstract

The chapter discusses the introduction of standardized tests as they move education system from equity of access to quality of instruction and learning. The aim of the chapter is to analyze the role of international education projects like PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS in shaping national education policies and in helping them to tackle such issues as limited access to education, corruption, illegal practices, quality manipulations in academia, and achievement gaps. The main method used is cross-national comparative analysis. The theoretical scope of the chapter covers major scholarly works on international testing, achievement gaps, and corruption in education. The research finds that the arrows of influence operate in both directions, implying that while setting global standards, international projects base their judgments on identified local challenges in education systems of individual countries. Besides, internationalization of standards has spillover effects on curbing corruption and illegal actions that often cause widening of achievement gaps. The findings of the research could be used in designing education policies both on national and international levels to make education systems more transparent and comparable to international standards. The chapter sets forth a novel idea that the international projects like PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS could serve not only as means of setting and checking quality standards in education, but as mediators in closing achievement gaps and even curbing corruption. This novelty presents a value to the local education policymakers, and more importantly, to the public.