Korean Educational Development Institute(KEDI)

https://doi.org/10.22804/kjep.2015.12.2.004

Open Access

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License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

ⓒKorean Educational Development Institute (KEDI)

Abstract

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School accountability and autonomy are the catchwords of global education reform movements.？ South？ Korea？ has？ also？ intensified？ school？ accountability？ and？ autonomy, particularly？ since？ 2008.？ This？ study？ examines？ the？ effects？ of？ school？ accountability？ and autonomy on Korean students’ math achievement in PISA. Multilevel analyses revealed an insignificant effect of school accountability on math scores and the probability of scoring？ below？ the？ basic？ proficiency？ level？ in？ 2003？ and？ 2012.？ In？ addition,？ a？ quantile regression indicated no effect of school accountability on math achievement at different achievement levels. However, school autonomy over curricula and assessment had a positive？ relationship？ with？ math？ achievement,？ particularly？ that？ of？ lower-performing students in 2012. The findings suggest that alternative accountability policies deserve consideration in the context of Korean education.