Enacting performance-based accountability in a Southern European school system: between administrative and market logics

Performance-based accountability (PBA) policies are increasingly adopted in a wide range of education systems order to reform school governance and improve students’ results schools’ performance. Countries around the world have been implementing national large-scale assessments make actors more accountable responsible for results. This policy model has generalized countries with different administrative traditions, including those short tradition New Public Management. is case Spain, where PBA unevenly regions, Madrid being one earliest adopters. In recent decades, developed that combines test-based system broad parental choice, which also facilitates activation market forms accountability. However, combination interaction between understudied. paper adopts enactment perspective analyze, through study approach, its at level. The based on set 41 semi-structured interviews teachers, principals, inspectors sample eight schools Madrid, combined document analysis educational projects improvement plans. evidence suggests tend generate dynamics interdependence, resulting increasing external pressures address superficial responses, teaching test, or second-order competition schools.