In this paper, Timperley begins by discussing the very limited nature of the research literature relating to the impacts of external reviews, adding that this has done nothing to dampen enthusiasm for them or to slow their spread. Nearly every educational jurisdiction that has an external review system mixes both accountability and improvement purposes, setting up an inherent tension.
The author finds that EROâs Evaluation Indicators for School Reviews (2011) includes indicators that have an effectiveness/accountability orientation and indicators that have an improvement orientation, but without differentiation. Further, it is not at all clear how the indicators work together or intersect for improvement purposes, or how they should be used to evaluate a schoolâs capacity to improve.
One way in which external review can permeate the layers of the school system and have an impact on classroom teaching and learning is to have it connected with and complementary to internal self-review. In New Zealand, this linkage is currently very loose, with ERO reluctant to push a specified approach onto schools that are used to managing themselves. Similarly, the linkage between our major educational agencies and their evaluation functions is loose, at a time when system coherence is needed to gain traction on major goals.
The author finds that although ERO is requiring schools to engage in cyclical self-review, it lacks a well-founded theory to explain how self-review is meant to lead to school improvement, let alone the system improvement to which it aspires. She discusses three possible models before going on to describe an âinquiry spiralâ with six phases: scanning, focusing, developing a hunch, learning, taking action, and checking. As always, issues of expertise and organisational capacity must be identified and addressed.
The paper concludes with a discussion of a theory for improvement through external review, with the author advocating that ERO develop a core set of indicators to be used for both internal and external review purposes.