Raising the stakes: Inequality and testing in the russian education system

Sociologists have argued that high-stakes tests open the door to high levels of educational inequality at transition points: In a high-stakes testing regime, parents and students are able to focus all energy and resources on test preparation, thus enhancing pre-existing inequalities in academic performance. But arguments about a special role for high-stakes tests are often prosecuted without explicit comparisons to other types of tests and assessments, usually because information on other tests is not available. In this article, we analyze a unique dataset on a contemporary cohort of Russian students, forwhom we have PISA and TIMSS scores, low-stakes test scores, and high-stakes test scores.We compare the role each test plays in mediating socioeconomic background inequalities at the important transitions in the Russian educational system: The transition to upper secondary education and the transition to university. We find evidence in favor of a special role for the high-stakes test at the transition to university, but we also find evidence that gives cause to question the standard assumption that high-stakes tests should be a primary focus for those concerned about inequality of educational opportunity.