Maintaining the quality and comparability of qualifications has become a major priority for vocational education and training (VET) systems world-wide, especially for those countries which have decentralised assessment and reporting systems. In the absence of external examinations, one policy solution to align the assessment standards of different…

Teacher evaluation has evolved from a task used for administrative decisions to an activity whose main goal is the enhancement of student learning and well-being through the improvement of instruction. The actual implementation of teacher evaluation by school principals will determine greatly the extent to which it can achieve this goal. An…

This paper aims to survey the current landscape of education policy evaluation across OECD countries and economies by examining recent trends and contextual factors that can promote more robust education policy evaluation, as well as identifying key challenges. It takes a view of policy evaluation as an activity that takes place throughout the…

Despite the increase in federal tiered evidence initiatives that require the use of rigorous evaluation designs, such as randomized experiments, there has been limited guidance in the evaluation literature on practical strategies to implement such studies successfully. This paper provides lessons learned in executing experiments in applied…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become increasingly important in the US due to its influence on the nation's educational needs, the creation of a skilled labor force, and opportunities for more tech-savvy workers. However, the evaluation approaches and methodologies used in STEM education programs have come…

As Chap. 1 explained, the factors at play in the implementation of public policy are not limited to the complex, confounding and often competing values that jostle with one another when education policy is formulated, but may also variously come to light depending upon the lens through which the process is viewed. In this the final chapter I move…

Indonesia has recently witnessed a development in accounting information system with the introduction of computer-assisted mechanism. The Audit Board (BPK) while implementing the e-Audit system, aimed at reducing conflicts between auditors and state bureaucrats. This study is based on the phenomenon that occurred regarding the low quality of the…

This case study examined the functional role activities of developmental evaluators in a school and community partnership employing a collaborative program model to improve an urban underperforming public school. Program implementers' assessments of program developments and their experience with developmental evaluators were also examined. Data…

Teacher effectiveness has a powerful impact on student performance and a teacher evaluation process that supports professional growth can be a key lever for improving teaching quality. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perspectives on the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, when used as part of their…

Implementation fidelity data indicate to what extent the delivered educational intervention (e.g., pedagogies, curricula) differs from the designed intervention (Gerstner & Finney, 2013; O'Donnell, 2008). Fidelity data help practitioners make more accurate inferences regarding program effectiveness (Dumas, Lynch, Laughlin, Smith, & Prinz,…

This chapter introduces the idea of school inspectors as implementers of public policy, framing their role within the context of policy implementation and the governance of education. Using a framework for policy implementation developed by Weible and Sabatier (Handbook of public policy analysis. Taylor and Francis, London, pp. 123-136, 2006), it…

In many of Germany's states the procedures for school inspections were amended following completion of a first evaluation cycle. This chapter examines the way changes carried out in the course of reform were configured with respect to content and process. It is based on the assumption that school inspections represent an institution whose…

A core motivation for the widespread teacher evaluation reforms of the past decade was the belief that these new systems would promote teacher development through high-quality feedback. We examine this theory by studying teachers' perceptions of evaluation feedback in Boston Public Schools and evaluating the district's efforts to improve feedback…

The relationship between headteachers and inspection is complex, particularly when in service head teachers are employed as inspectors. This study takes the English case of inspection to examine how headteachers interpret their work and agency as inspectors. Employing ideas on 'boundary crossing' it is informed by, and contributes to, the…

This book examines the role of the inspector within the context of a number of OECD member states and explores the ways in which the inspectors themselves interpret, implement and influence inspection practices and policy. Inspection policy can have various unintended consequences, some of which produce radical discrepancies between the policy…