Performance measurement in the public sector is largely based on objective metrics, which may be subject to gaming behaviour. This paper investigates a novel subjective performance evaluation system where independent inspectors visit schools at very short notice, publicly disclose their findings and sanction schools rated fail. First, I…

Examines the relationship between resources and performance using data on Further Education (FE) colleges in England. Focuses on inspection scores and resource levels to determine if colleges that receive greater expenditures perform better on inspection scores. Finds that a link can be substantiated between performance and size. Includes…

This book provokes a re-examination of how expert knowledge, not practitioner know-how, has come to dominate how Americans judge and improve schools. It depicts the English tradition of school inspection to provoke the invention of better ways for judging and knowing schools in America. Data were gathered by observation of 39 local and national…