Los Nodos que componen la plataforma intercultural de Caminando en Latá Latá

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Evaluation of the quality of education may focus on different administrative levels. Besides global evaluation of the education system (Figure B13), it may involve teachers, schools or local authorities, depending on the particular country.

In a very large number of countries, schools are evaluated and this may or may not be supplemented by the appraisal of individual teachers. Schools are evaluated externally, generally by an inspectorate, and internally by school staff and sometimes other members of the school community. Internal evaluation is mandatory or strongly recommended everywhere. Around half of the countries concerned have drawn up lists of national criteria for external evaluation (Figure B11).

In the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, schools are also evaluated by the corresponding educational provider, as they are in the case of the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland), where the local authorities perform this task. In Lithuania and the United Kingdom, local authorities are themselves evaluated by the central government. In Hungary, responsibility for school external evaluation mainly lies with local education providers, in a framework established by the national education authorities (Figure B11). In Italy, school evaluation is essentially internal.

In countries where school evaluation is carried out in addition to individual teacher evaluation, the school head is responsible for individual teacher evaluation in nearly all cases. In France (ISCED 2) and Cyprus, teachers are also evaluated regularly by the inspectorate. In Liechtenstein, the inspectorate alone evaluates them.

In seven countries where schools are evaluated, teachers are not evaluated individually as a matter of course. However, in Belgium (Flemish Community), Estonia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania and Slovenia, they may be evaluated in specific circumstances, such as when they are applying for promotion or at the end of their first year in service.

In two groups of countries, schools providing compulsory education are not the focus of the evaluation system.

In Greece, France (primary education) and Luxembourg (primary education), external evaluation by the inspectorate or school advisers is concerned mainly with teachers. While external evaluation of schools exists in all these countries, it is concerned with matters relatively limited in scope. The internal evaluation of schools is not very widespread or virtually non-existent.

In the Nordic countries except Iceland, the evaluation system is centred on local authorities who are responsible for evaluating their own educational provision and are evaluated in turn by the central education authorities or a national education agency. In these countries, the municipalities are authorised to delegate their responsibility to schools. Teachers are not evaluated individually. Internal evaluation (self-evaluation) occurs everywhere to a varying extent but is not always mandatory. However, Sweden has a different approach to others in this group of countries, as schools are also systematically evaluated by central authorities in Sweden.

The situation has changed in several countries where, in 2002/03, schools were not central to the system of evaluation. In Belgium (French Community as of 2006/07 and German-speaking Community as of 2008/09), Luxembourg (secondary education), Sweden and Norway, the external evaluation of schools (and internal evaluation in the case of Luxembourg) is assuming growing importance (See Key Data on Education in Europe 2005 and Evaluation of Schools Providing Compulsory Education in Europe, Eurydice, 2004).

Figure B10: Elements of the education system subject to evaluation, compulsory general education, 2006/07

BE de LU LI MT Source: Eurydice. Primary education FR LU

School evaluation and individual teacher evaluation

(and also local authorities in some countries) School evaluation

Mainly individual teacher evaluation

Mainly local authorities

Additional notes (Figure B10)

Belgium (BE fr): A decree from March 2007 extended the scope of the school activities to be evaluated.

Belgium (BE de): External evaluation of schools, foreseen by the decree of 31 August 1998, was introduced in a pilot phase in primary education in 2007/08, and in one secondary school in 2008/09. Other secondary schools will be evaluated in 2009/10. The 1998 decree also envisages compulsory internal evaluation.

Denmark: Since 2000/01, EVA has been responsible for evaluating all Ministry of Education schools. For this purpose, it evaluates samples of schools, and individual judgements may be made about the schools selected.

Estonia: Since September 2006, external evaluation organised centrally takes different samples of schools each year. The focus of evaluations depends on annual priorities. Internal evaluation remains obligatory.

Italy: a 2007 law foresees the introduction of external evaluation of schools, to be carried out by the National Institute for the Evaluation of the Education System.

Malta: As of 2006/07, external evaluation of schools has been introduced. It is carried out by the Quality Assurance Department.

Slovenia: Periodical observation of teachers in classes is one of the legal duties of the head teacher, although in 2006/07 there was not yet a formal system for regular teacher evaluation. However, from 2009 school heads are obliged to produce a yearly evaluation report for every singleteacher.

Finland: Education providers (mostly municipalities) are responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of their provision, and must participate in national evaluations.

Sweden: The National Agency for Education (NAE), which was primarily responsible for monitoring compliance with regulations during the 1990s, has reinforced its school evaluation activities since 2003/04. In 2008, school evaluation was moved from NAE to a new authority, the National Schools Inspectorate.

Norway: The external evaluation of schools by municipalities became mandatory with effect from 2004/05. Explanatory note

The evaluation of schools and of teachers considered here is carried out by external and/or internal evaluators depending on the country concerned.

School evaluation focuses on activities carried out by school staff without seeking to assign individual responsibility to one or more staff members of the school concerned. Evaluation of this kind seeks to monitor or improve the performance and results of schools and findings are presented in an overall report containing no individual appraisals. If an appraisal of the school head is part of an evaluation covering all school activities (including those for which school heads are not responsible themselves) and findings are used with a view to improving the quality of the school concerned, this is regarded as an evaluation of the school. On the other hand, an evaluation by the school board/council of limited and specific aspects of the work of the head, such as the management of human or financial resources, is not regarded as an evaluation of the school.

External evaluation of schools is conducted by evaluators who report to a local, regional or central education authority and who are not staff members at the school concerned. Such an evaluation covers a broad range of school activities, including teaching and learning and/or all aspects of the management of the school. Evaluation which is conducted by specialist evaluators and concerned with specific tasks (related to accounting records, health, safety, archives, etc.) is not regarded as external evaluation of the school.

Internal evaluation of school, also known as school self-evaluation, is carried out by members of the school community, meaning individuals or groups of people who are directly involved in school activities (such as the school head, teaching and administrative staff and pupils) or who have a direct stake in them (such as parents or local community representatives).

Individual teacher evaluation involves forming a judgement about a teacher’s work in order to guide them and help them as individuals to improve. The teacher subject to evaluation receives personal verbal or written feedback. This evaluation may occur during the process of school evaluation (in which case it generally results in verbal feedback), or be carried out independently (possibly leading to a formal appraisal of the teacher evaluated in this way).