Authentic, valid and reliable evaluation and assessment, those which lead to the improvement of educational practices at all levels and lift student learning, are central to establishing a high-performing education system. They are also instrumental in recognising and rewarding the work of educational practitioners and in certifying the learning of students. Promoting evaluation and assessment is clearly in the interest of students and their families, educational practitioners and education systems. As a result, more and more countries embark on ambitious school reform programmes which include a strong element of evaluation and assessment. This can consolidate the evaluation culture in education systems and reinforces the role of evaluation and assessment frameworks in driving the reform agenda.

Governments and education policy makers are increasingly focused on the evaluation and assessment of students, teachers, school leaders, schools and education systems. These are used as tools for understanding better how well students are learning, for providing information to parents and society at large about educational performance and for improving school, school leadership and teaching practices.

There is widespread recognition that evaluation and assessment arrangements are key to both improvement and accountability in school systems. This is reflected in their increasing importance in national education agendas. As countries strive to transform their educational systems to prepare all young people with the knowledge and skills needed to function in rapidly changing societies, some common policy trends can be observed in one form or another in most OECD countries, including decentralisation, school autonomy, greater accountability for outcomes and a greater knowledge management capacity. Decentralisation and school autonomy are creating a greater need for the evaluation of schools, school leaders and teachers while greater IT capacity allows for the development and analysis of large-scale student assessments as well as individualised assessment approaches. Results from evaluation and assessment are becoming critical to knowing whether the school system is delivering good performance and to providing feedback for further development. Evaluation and assessment are instrumental in defining strategies for improving practices within school systems with the ultimate goal of enhancing student outcomes. These developments are having a strong influence in the way in which policy makers monitor system, school, school leader, teacher and student performance.

The OECD undertook a major international study of evaluation and assessment policies in school systems: the OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes. Drawing on the experiences of 25 countries around the world, and extensive data and research, the OECD Review analysed the key factors involved in effective evaluation and assessment policies, and developed policy options for countries to consider. Over at least the last 30 years, evaluation and assessment have become an increasingly significant feature of the educational landscape in countries across the world. Their nature and purpose remain varied, reflecting national traditions, infrastructure and practices, broader educational policy and political agreements. This chapter discusses why evaluation and assessment policies are high on national agendas, describes the methodology used in the Review, and outlines the organisation of this report.

This chapter provides the context for analysing evaluation and assessment policy. First, it describes the main trends within educational evaluation. It is apparent that evaluation and assessment are increasingly being considered as levers of change guiding improvement, accountability, educational planning and policy development within school systems. Countries are developing more comprehensive evaluation and assessment frameworks, placing greater emphasis on educational measurement and indicators development, giving growing prominence to accountability uses of results, and relying increasingly on educational standards. Second, the chapter reviews the contextual factors shaping the development of evaluation and assessment in school systems. Evaluation and assessment have gained in importance as a result of greater levels of school devolution, a stronger role for market-type mechanisms in education, the emergence of New Public Management, the growing imperative of an efficient use of public resources, the need to focus on “quality for all” and the rising importance of education in a global world. Other contextual factors influencing the development of evaluation and assessment frameworks include the rising expectations of the professionalism of teachers, more educated parents, the movement to advance the use of evidence-based decision making, technological advancements, the emergent commercial interests in education and the role of the media.

This chapter looks at the overall framework for evaluation and assessment, i.e. its various components such as student assessment, teacher appraisal, school evaluation, school leader appraisal and education system evaluation, the coherence of the whole as well as the articulation between the different components. This chapter supports the view that evaluation and assessment in school systems need to be conceived holistically, as a whole framework, building on the interdependence of its parts in order to generate complementarities, avoid duplication, and prevent inconsistency of objectives. The chapter illustrates the synergies that can be generated between the different evaluation and assessment components. Areas analysed include the governance and structure of the framework, capacity for evaluation and assessment, alignment with educational goals, articulations within the framework, knowledge management, the use of evidence to inform policy development and strategies in the implementation of evaluation and assessment policies.

Student assessment is essential to measure the progress and performance of individual students, plan further steps for the improvement of teaching and learning, and share information with relevant stakeholders. This chapter describes the approaches that countries take to assess individual students. Building on a discussion of impact, drivers and contextual developments, it discusses the governance of student assessment systems, assessment procedures and instruments, capacities needed for effective student assessment and the use of assessment results for different purposes. The chapter concludes with a set of pointers for policy development.

Improving the quality and equity of schooling depends to a large extent on the motivation and performance of individual teachers in the classroom. In turn, effective appraisal and feedback for teachers is essential to increase the focus on teaching quality and teachers’ professional learning. Teacher appraisal can also support the effective organisation of schools by allowing teachers to progress in their career and take on new roles and responsibilities based on a solid evaluation of their performance. This chapter describes the approaches that countries take to appraise individual teachers. Building on a discussion of impact, drivers and contextual developments, it analyses the governance of teacher appraisal schemes, appraisal procedures and instruments, capacities required for effective appraisal and the use of appraisal results for different purposes. The chapter concludes with a set of pointers for policy development.

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.

Backed by a growing research base, policy makers have increasingly recognised the significance of school leadership for effective teaching and learning. Within that context, an increasing number of countries have developed initiatives to strengthen the leadership capacity of their schools. While research on the effects of different appraisal schemes is limited, some evidence suggests potential benefits of the appraisal of individual school leaders as a means to communicate a vision of effective leadership and a tool to influence and improve school leaders’ practices and behaviours. This chapter discusses the approaches that countries take to appraise individual school leaders. Building on a conceptualisation of school leadership and a discussion of drivers and contextual developments, it analyses the governance of appraisal schemes, appraisal procedures, the capacity required for effective appraisal, and the use of appraisal results. The chapter concludes with a set of pointers for future policy development.

Within the evaluation and assessment framework, education system evaluation provides the opportunity to monitor quality and equity within the system and to bring together evidence from different aspects of the evaluation and assessment framework. This chapter presents evidence on different approaches to education system evaluation at both the national and sub-national levels. It examines governance issues, different procedures used, the capacity for undertaking and using the results of education system evaluation and the reporting of results. It then presents some options seeking to promote the better use of education system evaluation for informing policies for system improvement.

Quality in education is increasingly judged on the basis of effective learning outcomes. Countries use a range of techniques for the evaluation and assessment of students, teachers, school leaders, schools and education systems with the objective of assessing whether the school system is delivering good performance and providing feedback for improvement in student outcomes. Many countries test samples and/or all students at key points and also formally review the work of individual teachers, school leaders and schools. However, countries often face challenges in bringing the different elements of evaluation and assessment together into a coherent and comprehensive strategy, within which each element is fit for purpose and contributes effectively to improving learning outcomes.