Why Does Poor Performance Get So Much Attention in Public Policy?

This article explores why information on poor performance often gets most of the attention in public policy. In order to illustrate the discussion this paper analyses the case of educational policy for secondary schools in Norway, and in particular the policy of participating in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which measures educational outcomes for 15-year old pupils regarding reading, mathematics and science. Governments, researchers, interest groups and the media await the regular release of the PISA results every third year with great interest, and participate in the strategy of 'naming and blaming' based on the relative national performances. The practice of identifying poor performance and the subsequent public discourses has become an institution. Despite the negativity-bias the strategic use of information associated with these processes may have positive impacts on decision making, policy innovation and democratic accountability.