The majority of OECD countries now implement one form or another of standards-based assessment and evaluation. The core logic of standards-based systems rests upon the alignment of three key elements: standards defining the knowledge and skills – or competences – students are expected to...

Many schools around the world are struggling in the face of reduced funding and fluctuating enrolments. Often, the solution to this unhappy equation is quite simply to shut down facilities. But when all the costs of closing a school are considered – financial, material and human –...

A long-held ambition for many educators and assessment experts has been to integrate summative and formative assessments so that data from external assessments used for system monitoring may also be used to shape teaching and learning in classrooms. In turn, classroom-based assessments may...

Do some forms of student (and school) assessment hinder the introduction of innovative educational practices and the development of innovation skills in education systems? This report focuses on the impact of high-stake summative assessment on innovation and argues that it is possible to...

Dans le cadre de son mécanisme de planification de l’équipement, le San Diego Unified School District (Californie, États-Unis) a établi une analyse systématique de la qualité fonctionnelle dans chacun de ses établissements scolaires. La qualité fonctionnelle représente un critère...

Capital planning for schools should include both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. And while building condition remains an important and necessary factor in short- and long-range facility planning, by itself it is not sufficient to reveal the full range of building performance issues or...