There are two main forms of school evaluation in Portugal: school self-evaluation and school external inspection. The latter is the responsibility of the General Inspectorate of Education and Science. A first cycle of external school evaluations was conducted from 2006 to early 2011. It involved, for each school in the system, a sequence of activities comprising a self-reflection by the school, a visit by a team with inspectors and an external member, the publication of the team’s report and, in some cases, an improvement plan for the school. A second cycle of external school evaluations was launched in the 2011/12 school year following a similar approach but with the introduction of the requirement of an improvement plan for each school inspected. A distinguishing feature of external school evaluation is that it does not involve the observation of teaching and learning in the classroom. The precise nature of school selfevaluation varies across schools as the legal requirement to undertake it does not come with a prescribed approach.