6. SCHOOL EVALUATION: FROM COMPLIANCY TO QUALITY – 383 Chapter 6 School evaluation: From compliancy to quality School evaluation plays an important role in the evaluation and assessment framework and can exert considerable influence. This chapter presents evidence on different approaches to external school evaluation, school self-evaluation and the use of comparative school performance measures. It examines governance issues, different procedures used, the capacity for undertaking and using the results of school evaluation and the reporting of results. It then presents some options seeking to promote a balance of policies to better serve school improvement. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. SYNERGIES FOR BETTER LEARNING: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT © OECD 2013 384 – 6. SCHOOL EVALUATION: FROM COMPLIANCY TO QUALITY Introduction This chapter analyses approaches to school evaluation within the evaluation and assessment framework. School evaluation refers to the evaluation of individual schools as organisations. This chapter covers internal school evaluation (school self-evaluation or review), external school evaluation (e.g. school reviews, school inspections) and the comparison of schools on different performance measures. School evaluation is increasingly considered as a potential lever of change that could assist with decision making, resource allocation and school improvement, especially as: further autonomy is given to individual schools, market forms of accountability gain in importance, and the school is increasingly recognised as the key agency within the education system for improving student learning. The effective monitoring and evaluation of schools is central to the continuous improvement of student learning: Schools need feedback on their performance to help them identify how to improve their practices; and schools should be accountable for their performance. This chapter is organised in eight sections. After this introduction, the second section lays out the analytical approach, followed by a third section on impact, drivers and contextual developments. The following four sections describe key features of school evaluation and country practices, structured along the four main topics of the OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes: governance, procedures, capacity and use of results. The final section provides pointers for policy development. Analytical approach Scope and definitions School evaluation concentrates on key processes such as teaching and learning, school leadership, educational administration, school environment and the management of human resources. It does so in association with an analysis of student outcomes, both the achievement/progress of students and the equity of student results. It also takes into account inputs such as the infrastructure, funding and characteristics of the school staff. This report defines school evaluation as an evaluation of the following major aspects: • the effectiveness of the structures and processes in place within a school • the implementation of national educational policies and regulations within the school • the quality of student learning outcomes at the school • the capacity for schools to improve. This chapter examines three major approaches to school evaluation: • School self-evaluation or review: This concerns an evaluation or review conducted by members of the school to assess the effectiveness of structures and processes in place and the quality of student learning outcomes. Such internal reviews of school effectiveness and quality may draw on input from school leadership, teachers, other staff, students, parents and the school community. SYNERGIES FOR BETTER LEARNING: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT © OECD 2013 6. SCHOOL EVALUATION: FROM COMPLIANCY TO QUALITY – 385 • External school evaluation or review: This concerns the evaluation or review of the quality of structures and processes operating within a school and the quality of student learning outcomes as judged by an external body. External reviews may be conducted by specific national or state institutions, such as Inspectorates or Quality Review Agencies, by a group of officials within a government department or Ministry of Education or by accredited individuals. In these cases, external review typically involves a strong focus on accountability, but increasingly aims to give feedback for school development. External reviews may also be conducted by professionals in other schools in the nature of “collegial” or “peer” reviews. In these cases, external review typically focuses on school improvement and can be taken up by schools as part of their own self-evaluation activities. • The comparison of schools on different performance measures: This typically aims to compare schools on standardised measures to allow the benchmarking of their performance in relation to other schools, particular districts or regions or national averages. Such comparative performance measures may be reported to schools for internal use in their own evaluation processes and/or may be reported publicly to allow a wider audience to compare schools. The argument for the latter is generally linked to providing parents and students with information on which to base decisions of school choice. Conceptual framework The OECD Review of Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes uses a conceptual framework to summarise the aspects involved in school evaluation and the way these interconnect (see Figure 6.1). The overarching policy objective is to ensure that school evaluation contributes to the improvement of student outcomes through improved school practices. There is a complex range of features associated with school evaluation. This chapter presents these in four major areas: • Governing school evaluation: This addresses the purpose of school evaluation and includes the major responsibilities for devising and conducting school evaluation and setting a legal framework for school evaluation. It also refers to how external school evaluation and school self-evaluation are articulated. • Procedures used in school evaluation: This aspect refers to the features of a given approach to school evaluation, that is, the mix of instruments, criteria and standards, knowledge and skills used in a specific school evaluation model. It also includes decisions about the population of schools involved, the reference standards, the character of the evaluation, the nature of externality, the steps of the process, and the frequency. • Competencies to evaluate schools and to use the results of school evaluation: This aspect concerns the preparation to evaluate, to be evaluated and to use the results of an evaluation as well as the choice of the groups undertaking these functions. It includes issues such as: the choice of the evaluators and the development of the skills to perform the evaluation of a school; the preparation by schools to be the subject of an evaluation; the development of competencies to effectively use the results of an evaluation for the improvement of school practices; and the design of agencies to review school evaluation results with a view to hold schools accountable and to inform policy development. SYNERGIES FOR BETTER LEARNING: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT © OECD 2013 386 – 6. SCHOOL EVALUATION: FROM COMPLIANCY TO QUALITY • Using the results of school evaluation: This encompasses the objectives of a particular school evaluation process and the mechanisms designed to ensure that evaluation results are used in a way such objectives are reached. The objectives of school evaluation typically consist of feedback for improvement, accountability for performance and information about the quality of school practices. Examples of mechanisms to use evaluation results include feedback and recommendations for improvement, an improvement plan, publication of school-level results, financial and other rewards as well as sanctions. Impact, drivers and contextual developments School evaluation policies, like all components of the evaluation and assessment framework, have been influenced and shaped by wider trends in public management (see Chapter 2). With devolved responsibilities, there are greater demands to hold schools accountable for their quality. This means a greater level of responsibility at the school level for quality improvement; a greater focus on the outcomes a school secures for its students; and demands for the public to have access to information on school quality. For example, in Mexico the National Model for Total Quality in Mexico, which was drawn up to promote a general management approach for quality assurance in public services, led to the development of a voluntary System for School Self-Evaluation for Quality Management in 2007 (SEP and INEE, 2011). In the Flemish government, trends for greater transparency with the “Active publicity” policy led to the publication of inspection reports for individual schools on the Inspectorate’s website from 2007 (Flemish Ministry of Education and Training, 2010). Perhaps the most specific external policy influence on school evaluation has been the wider policy trends on the approach