Beyond performance results: analyzing the informational and developmental potentials of standardized mathematics tests

Over the past years the importance and use of standardized assessments in mathematics has been steadily increasing: besides the well-known PISA and TIMSS, many countries have been developing their own standardized assessments, often sharing, in part or completely, the frameworks of the famous international assessments. Frequently the results of these assessments are object of harsh debates within national educational communities, and they have repercussions on the educational decisions made by politicians, which can have important consequences trickling down to the classroom level. This is why the use of standardized assessments is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored by the research community.