ABSTRACT
Discussion about feedback is located within the notion of a learning gap, and how feedback alters the gap. Different constructions of a pupil's learning gap linked to feedback have received little examination within national and international debates. This chapter explores how and why what children learn in school is identified and regulated both nationally and internationally. It highlights particular considerations for examining how feedback to pupils about their learning becomes coded in specific ways, constructing and shaping the learning gap for children in pre-determined ways. The framing of pupil performances in national and international high-stakes systems prioritises pupils as a collective. Two key themes are examined initially in order to understand the policy context both internationally and nationally against which a better understanding of a deterministic approach to understanding the learning gap can be outlined. First, the rise of global educational policy governance will be examined. Second, attention is directed to the purpose of high-stakes testing.
