ABSTRACT
The setting and comparison of educational standards of pupil attainment, the routes by which those standards are attained and their relative comparability are research issues of national and international concern. Studies such as the Programme for International Student Asssessment (PISA) and Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have stimulated debate about the relative merits of policy choices that are made in education systems. These international studies provide a natural complement to in-depth system level analyses by systematically examining educational outcomes, practices and relationships across educational settings. In England the Education Reform Act 1988 introduced an outcomes-based accountability system of measuring and monitoring pupil performance in national tests and assessments.
