Coping with conflicting demands: student assessment in Dutch primary schools

n the Netherlands, as in many other developed countries, the educational authorities are trying to strengthen their control of educational productivity. They want schools to adopt student assessment schemes, based on norm-referenced tests. A questionnaire was submitted to primary school teachers and principals in order to obtain a description of current assessment practices and opinions. It appears that Dutch teachers and principals make only limited use of norm-referenced tests. They prefer curriculum-embedded tests, which provide much more support for teaching and learning processes. Respondents consider accountancy purposes to be of secondary importance. Several recommendations specifically directed at educational officials are given in order to facilitate the introduction of a standards-based accountability system.