Parents’ resistance to standardized testing in a highly centralized system: The emergence of an opt-out movement in Israel

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6328

Keywords:

test-based accountability, standardized tests, parents, opt-out movement, Israel

Abstract

This paper discusses the emergence of an opt-out movement in Israel led by parent associations at local and national levels. The protest targeted the use of a national standardized test, the Meitzav. Analyzing media coverage of this movement and informed by the theoretical arguments of the Advocacy Coalition Framework, the study suggests that by forming a coalition with the Teachers’ Union, parents proclaimed their right to a role in education policymaking in a highly centralized system. The coalition was successful in that it influenced the Ministry of Education to postpone the tests and form a special committee to reevaluate the national assessment policy. The Israeli case enhances our understanding of opt-out movements in different educational and institutional contexts.

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Author Biographies

Noy Sabag, University of Washington

Noy Sabag is a PhD student at the College of Education, University of Washington. She explores how research is incorporated into, and used in, educational policymaking processes. She completed her master’s degree at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev where she was a junior researcher in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy.

Yariv Feniger, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Yariv Feniger is an associate professor in the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His teaching and research focus on education policy and educational inequality.

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Published

2022-09-06

How to Cite

Sabag, N., & Feniger, Y. (2022). Parents’ resistance to standardized testing in a highly centralized system: The emergence of an opt-out movement in Israel. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30, (135). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6328

Issue

Section

Testing Opt-out Movements