School inspections are a common feature of many education systems. These may be informed by quantitative background data about schools. It is recognised that there are pros and cons of using such quantitative information as part of the inspection process, though these have rarely been succinctly set out. This paper seeks to fill this gap by…

This paper discusses empirical comparisons of higher education institutions across world regions. It argues that institutional data systems have the potential for complementing global comparisons promoted by rankings by providing sensible information on institutional size, budgets, staffing, enrolments and activity profiles. With this perspective…

University rankings have become commonplace in higher education. Traditional quantified rankings do not merely measure educational performance: they equally grant status, enforce competition between institutions, and are emblematic for the ongoing capitalization of higher education. Drawing on the field of Science and Technology Studies, this…

Purpose: This study aims to analyse and evaluate the methodology followed by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (THE-IR), as well as the coverage obtained and the data offered by this ranking, to determine if its methodology reflects the degree of sustainability of universities, and whether their results are accurate enough to be used as a…

The aim of the paper is to contribute to the critical study of digital data use in education, through examination of the processes surrounding school inspection judgements. The interaction between pupil performance data and other (embodied, enacted) sources of inspection judgement is scrutinised and discussed with a focus on the interaction…

The ratings given by citizens to local public schools in the United States have been rising in the last decades. Using national public opinion surveys, this study seeks to understand the determinants of public evaluations of local schools across time. Aggregate trend analyses indicate that public evaluations of local schools are influenced not…

During recent years, we have seen an increase in the complexity of school leadership as knowledge work. The new forms of knowledge available to school leadership, such as performance data and survey-based data, raise the expectation that leaders make relevant use of these knowledge resources. Theory and policy claim that new knowledge is of…

"Bloomberg Businessweek" ranks U.S. undergraduate business programs annually. These rankings provide a convenient overall measure of quality, which is important in today's environment of concern about higher education costs and employment after graduation. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has advantages over previous regression…

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act requires local education agencies to publicly disseminate school performance data. In response, districts and state departments of education have created "school report cards" that vary widely. While data dissemination policies can improve institutional legitimacy and ensure ongoing support, we suggest…

This study aims to construct ranking indicators from the perspective inside of the university and shift the ranking target from overall university quality to undergraduate education quality. In dealing with the complexity of the concept of undergraduate education quality, two-stage questionnaire survey was conducted to gain comprehensive opinions…

Assessing the quality of undergraduate student learning continues to be a priority in U.S. postsecondary education. Although variations in outcome assessment practices have long been suspected, they have not been systematically documented. To follow up the 2009 National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) report on institutional…

This article presents the findings of a survey, conducted on league tables and rankings systems worldwide, including seventeen standard ones and one non-standard league table. Despite the capacity of existing league tables and rankings to meet the interest of the public of transparency and information on higher education institutions, ranking…

A theoretical basis for defining and measuring the quality of institutions of higher education, namely for accreditation purposes, is developed. The theory, the Attributive Theory of Quality, is illustrated using a calculation model that is based on general systems theory. The theory postulates that quality only exists in relation to the…