The impact of national and international assessment programmes on education policy, particularly policies regarding resource allocation and teaching and learning practices in developing countries

There is a documented global rise in the number of countries undertaking national (Benavot & Tanner, 2007; UNESCO, 2008), as well as regional and international learning assessments (Kamens & McNeely, 2009). Much of this growth, especially in national learning assessments, has occurred among developing countries. Assessment programmes constitute a significant investment for these countries, and can have multiple purposes. To date, however, little is known about how these assessments have affected policies and practices in developing countries. This review synthesised evidence by employing a framework synthesis approach to accommodate the anticipated diverse types and quality of literature. The use of an initial conceptual framework effectively guided analysis to consider established evidence as well as policy considerations. At the same time, the use of a preliminary conceptual framework allowed for the development of new evidence to emerge, as on a global scale, little is known about the impact of these assessment programmes in economically developing countries.