School self-evaluation and student achievement

Abstract

In the last 2 decades, educational systems have developed accountability policies in which schools maintain autonomy for their pedagogical, instructional, and organizational practices (internal control). At the same time, they are held accountable to public authorities (external control) for the quality of their education. It is not clear whether these contrasting types of accountability policies contribute to the improvement of schools' educational quality. In this study, the general research question is whether there is a relationship between school self-evaluation (SSE) and student achievement. Using a database of 81 primary schools and 2,099 students, an analysis of variance and a multilevel analysis show which factors characterize the type of SSE that contributes to students' cognitive achievement. Some SSE perspectives seem positively related to student achievement.