Testing is a technological tool best addressed from within society-at-large, along with attendant questions of power, education access, education management, and social selection, rather than an object to be treated in isolation. It has been argued that modern societies in keeping with the increased division of labour are dependent on some form of selection system able to establish criteria of human worth. In a democratic society, such a selection system must be granted legitimacy in terms of objectivity, fairness, and justice for determining which individuals are allowed access to various positions in society. Introducing a high-stakes testing practice, in this respect, is linked with imaginaries of the public good, which can be understood as a justifying referent for governing. In other words, a high-stakes testing practice must be accompanied by a positive discourse about the splendours of the selection practice in terms of improvements and gains for both society and the individual; otherwise, the practice will be void of legitimacy and righteousness. In spite of much critical research on educational testing pointing out the inadequacies, inconsistencies, and unjust nature of many educational testing practices, educational testing remains as endemic as ever. In this presentation, we will investigate the discourses surrounding the launch of key high-stakes testing practices in the United States (US) and Scotland. In this respect, the presentation employs a comparative methodological design to identify contrasts and recurrences. The sources used will be policy documents, newspaper articles, and minutes from parliamentary debates. This presentation will provide insight into the links between the high-stakes testing agenda and the inclusion agenda in general, and the reasoning methodology behind promoting high-stakes testing practices, which carry particular importance regarding the possibilities and limitations of inclusion in the educational sphere. In the US, the discourse surrounding high-stakes testing and the public good has largely revolved around the use of such testing to promote racial equality, with special attention given to testing as a ‘civil rights’ issue that eventually will ameliorate racial inequality in public education in that country. Scotland is in the process of introducing similar tests into its educational system. It is a key feature of the ‘National Improvement Framework’, which the Scottish government claims will help narrow the attainment gap between the least and most deprived children.

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