The legitimacy of forms of knowledge in the practice of schooling – Teachers’ perspectives on the meaning of national standardized tests for the practice of schooling
The purpose of the article is to examine the kind of knowledge that testing offers teachers as well as teachers’ perspectives on how national standardized tests can become meaningful for school practice. In the article, an analytical distinction between test knowledge and everyday knowledge is presented, and it is shown how teachers act differently in the complexities of these perspectives. Through the analysis it is pointed out how the various forms are in conflict with each other. At the same time, test knowledge draws on scientific connotations and thus a higher degree of legitimacy than the teachers' everyday knowledge. The article analyzes how teachers' actions between test knowledge and everyday knowledge are connected to their action abilities in educational practice and to their professional self-understandings. Finally, the article ends with perspectives on possibilities to support teachers' everyday knowledge of the students.