Unit 3 Monitoring and Evaluation Techniques

Introduction
In this unit we will discuss the different techniques which the head can use in assessing the performance of different components in the school. Monitoring involves collecting qualitative and quantitative information and evidence at regular intervals about ongoing programmes within the school. This evidence is then analysed and evaluated and, where there are shortcomings, leads to a programme of improvement.

The collection of evidence can be in the form of the observation of pupils and classroom teaching, the scrutiny of pupils’ work, analysing data and test results, seeking views through discussion groups, peer evaluation and interviews, etc. This unit examines these techniques and also considers the role of external agencies such as the Department of Education and the MERD Unit in the evaluation of the school.

We will continue to remind you of the principle function of a school – the provision of effective learning and teaching; and, therefore, the importance of ensuring that it is of the highest quality. This will be affected both directly and indirectly by systems within the school. The head will ensure that, in the first instance, he / she will monitor and evaluate those factors which influence learning and teaching directly. Amongst these are the ability and skill levels of the teachers, the methodologies used, the appropriateness of resources and response of the children to the teaching given.

Individual study time: 4 hours

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit you should be able to:

describe different monitoring techniques and their appropriateness to different situations
apply appropriate evaluation techniques to meet different situations
understand the importance of self evaluation
outline the different activities and techniques adopted by external agencies such as the Department of Education or the MERD Unit in the evaluation of your school.

The various techniques of monitoring and evaluation
Evaluation involves making judgements about achievement in terms of set goals but, before you can pass judgement, you must pin-point an area of activity which you seek to evaluate and then seek information about it. Based on the information you have collected, you are then in a position to pass judgement on the quality of the activity or the particular situation in relation to the criteria set.

Any or all of the following techniques may be used to gather information:

Observation of lessons: this is perhaps the most important of the monitoring techniques in that it gets right to the hearts of teacher and pupil performance and the interaction between the two. It evaluates, principally, the effectiveness of teachers, the appropriateness of methodologies, the response of the pupils, the overall learning and teaching environment, the teacher’s classroom control, the use of learning resources and physical facilities.

Scrutiny of pupils’ work: the work of the pupils, both in terms of what they write, record or draw as well as their interaction with others and their teachers during lessons, is evidence of their learning or the process of their learning. Scrutiny of this work, and making judgements about its quality in relation to the age and ability of the children, is one of the prime methods of evaluating success.

Analysis of data and test / examination results: Assessment needs to have a purpose. One of its functions is to use the data to improve the quality of teaching and hence, the learning of pupils. The evaluation of this information can identify where teaching has been successful and where it needs to be improved. It can identify individual children who will need additional help or a specific programme to meet their needs.

Questionnaires or checklists: These can be used by the head to obtain from pupils or teachers an assessment of various aspects of school life, for example, the success of certain innovations introduced to the school. It is particularly important not to try to evaluate too much at one time; instead focus on a relatively discrete and manageable topic.

Systematic record keeping: The collection of evidence about areas of school life and performance is enhanced by records which later can be analysed and evaluated. Schools may keep records, amongst many others on the following:-

§ Teacher and pupil punctuality and attendance
§ Pupil suspensions
§ Acts of indiscipline
§ The attendance at extra curricular activities
§ The attendance at PTA meetings
§ The number of certificates, merit certificates or merit marks awarded
§ The completion of homework activities

Interviews: This is a technique whereby data and information is collected from pupils or staff through a face-to-face interview focusing on a specific issue.

Peer Evaluation: Evaluation often seems to imply someone more senior evaluating the work of someone junior. Peer evaluation involves co-workers (heads, teachers or pupils) using the techniques described above to help each other.

Discussion groups: This technique recognises the views of different groups, such as teachers in different departments, school prefects, the various clubs and societies, in their evaluation of different aspects of school life. Their purpose is to evaluate their work situation and then make suggestions for improvement. The Guyana Teachers’ Union, Headteachers’ Meetings and Cluster Groups are really discussion groups on a large scale.

Reflect for a while on whether you have used any of the above monitoring and evaluation techniques and to what extent they have been successful in improving school effectiveness.

Comments
We will deal with each technique in turn to enable you to reflect further on its development and application. But it is important to remember that whatever technique is used, you have to ensure that the information is recorded simply and accurately in a form that will enable you to analyse it quickly. This is most likely to involve written data (for example, questionnaires, assessment data and diaries) but could include audio / visual material, for example when carrying out observations.

Before we go into detail about some of these techniques, we feel it is important to emphasise that the procedures used in monitoring teachers’ work should not be a threatening exercise for them. Few people like to be watched and particularly to receive criticism but it is part of the process of professional development. The head must ensure that observations are taking place not to find fault but to develop the skills of the teachers and ultimately to make them more effective and improve learning. It is a partnership between the observer and the observed which will identify areas for development and also give credit for those aspects of the teachers’ work which are going well.

Now let us look a little more closely at some of the examples already cited:-

Observation of lessons
Perhaps the most useful form of M & E in schools is that which gets to the heart of the learning process. Observation of lessons is a method of evaluating the teaching and learning process, assessing the classroom performance of teachers and providing a regular check on the state and use of resources and classroom facilities.

Heads should organise routine observations of classes at different times of the day in the school by different teachers, including his or her own lessons. This can be done on a formal and informal basis, either with or without warning to the teacher. As the senior professional in the school, it is perfectly reasonable for a headteacher (and indeed the senior staff) to observe the learning process anywhere and at anytime unannounced.

Formal observation: the head, other senior staff member, HOD or Level Head observes a full lesson, either announced or unannounced using previously agreed criteria and makes judgements on what he or she sees. In all cases, a verbal feedback will be given to the teacher as soon as possible after the lesson. This feedback will contain positive aspects of the lesson, areas for improvement and how the observer will support the teacher to make the necessary improvements. Usually, when a teacher is given prior warning, it will be useful to provide written feedback and this will be kept as a record in the teacher’s file.

Informal observation: this is always without warning and is usually carried out by the teacher’s line manager or senior staff. It will usually involve the observer entering the classroom for a shorter period of time or passing through to ensure work is being carried out appropriately. Even with such observations, a short word of praise for something well done in the lesson will always be motivating and well received. Where a problem arises, unless it is a health and safety issue, ask to see the teacher later to discuss it.

In Guyana, such a monitoring programme can be a challenge because of the current shortage of trained teachers. However, this should not stand in the way of developing a programme as the benefits will outweigh any difficulties heads may find in its organisation. Teachers learn from each other, both how to do things and how not to do them – learning from each others’ mistakes.

Activity 3.1
Make a list of five or more items you would want to make judgements on when monitoring a teacher’s effectiveness in delivering a lesson.
E.g. Use of effective questioning techniques

Comments
As we noted in the previous section, observation will focus on aspects of the learning process such as the way that a teacher will communicate with his / pupils. In addition your list probably includes materials which were prepared for the lesson, evidence of a lesson plan, indications that the teacher has clear learning objectives and is sticking to them as well as a range of items concerning pupil / staff interactions.

Indeed, in order to evaluate the extent to which effective learning has taken place in the classroom, attention has to be focused on pupils as well as the teacher. Therefore, observation will include, for example, responses of pupils to the questions of the teacher, the time given to, and quality of written work, and the use and availability of text books and other learning resources. You might also want to evaluate contributions made by a teacher to a subject outside the classroom, for example, in a departmental meeting.

Activity 3.2
Draw up a programme of classroom observation which enables you and your staff to have an effective and regular coverage of classes in your school for three months. It should cover:

a broad spectrum of teachers;
all subjects on the curriculum;
all classes in the school.

Remember that you will have to make provision to ensure that all classes are being taught whilst observations are taking place.

Comments
We think you will agree that it is useful to have some form of policy and programme for carrying out regular classroom observations. This should be done in such a routine way that teachers and students become familiar with observations in the classrooms. Such regular monitoring should enable any deficiencies by teachers to be rectified. As may be expected, you will find teachers making mistakes during their lessons, but you should not correct there and then in the classroom in the presence of the pupils, as this will inevitably undermine the teacher and destroy the confidence the pupils have in their teacher. However, where a teacher’s mistake is likely to put the pupils or the teacher in an obvious danger such as an experiment or the use of tools in a workshop, the intervention of the head is defensible.

When observing lessons it is good practice to be very clear about what you are observing and what you will be making judgements about. This information should be shared with the staff well in advance so that they know your expectations and will feel less threatened by the process.

You may wish to limit yourself to overall impressions in the first instance. In this case it would be helpful to have a few headings to focus your opinions. (See Proforma 1). You may, however, wish to be more specific in order to analyse strengths and weaknesses. More detail will be required. (See Proforma 2). These are only suggestions and you will no doubt wish to develop your own.

Lesson Observation Proforma One

Lesson Observation Proforma


Subject ______________ Class __________ Teacher_______________________

Date_______________ Period ___________ Observed by __________________

Number of pupils at start of lesson _________________ Latecomers ____________

Action taken with latecomers ___________________________________________

Subject material, context and learning objectives____________________________

________________________________________________________________

Register taken __________________ Homework followed up _________________

Aims of lesson made explicit ____________________________________________

Learning environment / Display __________________________________________

Make comments on the following areas:

TEACHING



PUPIL RESPONSE



PUPIL ATTAINMENT



PUPIL PROGRESS



Homework Set ________________________________________________________

Lesson summing up ____________________________________________________

Use grades 1 - 7
2 = very good / well above average 4 = satisfactory / about average 6 = poor

The following form is an example of a specific focus. In this case it is the language use of the teacher and language development of the children.

Lesson Observation Proforma Two

Teacher ____________________ Subject ______________ Class ____________

Age group of class

Ability range of class - mixed ability, setting etc.

Language environment

Appropriateness of materials and strategies

Actual materials and strategies used for this lesson

Appropriateness for this particular group.

Engagement of whole class and different groups and individuals in each part of the lesson

Appropriateness of language used by teacher

in lesson delivery
to individual children
in the written materials

Use of subject specific language by teacher

Teaching of subject specific language

Opportunities for use of spoken language by pupils

in front of whole class
in groups
in pairs
with teacher individually

Opportunities for reading

in front of whole class
in groups
in pairs
with teacher individually

Opportunities for listening

Pupil response

Difficulties in language experienced by pupils

written
spoken

Ways in which teacher overcame difficulties of individual or groups of children

Specific teaching and learning strategies used in the development of language

General comments

Scrutiny of work
As with observations, looking at pupils’ work can be done in both a formal and informal way.

Formal: Ask teachers to provide for you, by a certain time and date, selected exercise books of individual, groups or whole classes of children. They should provide a range of varying age groups, ability levels and subjects. You can either allow the teachers to select the books or you can do it yourself. One way of doing it at random is to tell teachers to provide you with the exercise book of a particular number on the register for a particular subject. E.g. Number 7 for Social Studies in all classes. It is important, of course that you provide feedback to the teachers about what you have seen. Likewise a comment in the child’s book will also be appreciated.

Informal: This is when you look casually at books whilst observing lessons or passing through a classroom. Feedback is not normally given, although any issues must be raised with the teacher at a later time.

When looking at written work, one would look at the quantity, the quality and the presentation of the work, evidence of the concepts and skills taught as well as the appropriateness of the work for the age and ability of the children. Verbal pupil response in the classroom is perhaps more difficult to evaluate. However, speaking and listening skills might be identified along with creativity and dramatic performance.

It is important not to try to look at too many things at once when looking at children’s work. You can focus on the child or on the teacher. You might ask yourself some of the following questions:-
Teacher focus
Is the work appropriate for the age and ability of the child?
When was the last time the books were marked?
Has the teacher written encouraging comments in the marking?
Has the teacher shown how a pupil can improve in the marking?
Is the marking accurate?
Has the teacher commented where the child has not met expectations e.g. wasting paper, underlining, titles, dates etc.?

Pupil focus
Has he / she followed the instructions of the teacher?
Has he / she produced best work?
Is the presentation as good as it can be?
Is the content good?
Has the child taken note of the comments of the teacher?
Have the corrections of previous work been done?

If you want to change your qualitative judgements into quantitative data, it is possible to grade the work you have seen according to the agreed criteria and use this to show improvement overall by the teacher and the pupil.

E.g. Each of the above focus points is graded on the following scale:-

5 = Excellent, 4 = Good, 3 = Satisfactory, 2 = Poor, 1 = very poor

Or perhaps the following:

5 = Fully, 4 = Mainly, 3 = Partly, 2 = Rarely, 1 = Never

When looking at a whole department, the data can be divided up so that it is focused on a particular issue e.g. the quality of marking. This can be done for individual or groups of children or whole classes. An average grade can be created or a percentage depending on your needs. If, for example, a teacher scores an average of 3.2 (a little better than satisfactory), he / she can be set the target of an average of 4 (good) by the next time the books are looked at. You will, of course, need to coach him / her as to how this can be achieved and how improvements can be made.

Monitoring must always be followed by support and development.

Analysis of data and test / examination results
We need to offer a word of warning here. The use of data must always be for a specific purpose and you must be very clear about how its analysis will help to raise achievement. It can be an expensive process both in time and resources; and testing inevitably uses up teaching time. Decisions need to be made about whether the focus will be on individual or groups of children or on the performance of the teacher.

Information can be very powerful and can provide a valuable insight into the current performance of children, their progress over time as well as making predictions about their future performance. Progress is normally measured through pre and post testing and analysing the difference. Where a specific remedial intervention has taken place, one would expect progress beyond the level expected without the intervention.

Comparisons can be made about the performance of individuals and groups of children with different teachers and patterns can be identified and conclusions drawn. However, be very wary about using such evidence to discipline a teacher before you have done everything you can to support them to improve.

Many teachers use a form of continuous assessment of their pupils’ work which involves a range of techniques by which a head ensures that pupils’ work in the various subjects is regularly and comprehensively evaluated. This could include the use of regular assignments, class tests, projects, practical work as well as observation and oral tests.

Activity 3.3
Compile a list of forms of continuous assessment used in lessons in your school over a period of a week (or more) in selected subjects. Assess the adequacy or otherwise of the test or assignments or other techniques used by teachers and the quality of reporting.

Comments
You will have observed many different forms of assessment from formal assignments to impromptu class tests. Some will be marked by the teacher and others by the pupils themselves. Some teachers will record results and others not. When evaluating what you have seen, try to make a decision about which forms of continuous assessment you consider to be the most effective in raising achievement.

The following is the process in summary:-

Baseline Assessment / pre tests
Setting targets
Monitoring / post tests
Evaluation of results
Review

Questionnaires
The use of a questionnaire is an important technique where concrete information can be collected from the staff and the pupils on the issue to be evaluated. A checklist may also be suitable in which simple and uncomplicated answers are required such as ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, ‘Supported’ or ‘Not supported’, or simple ticks are required on a graded scale or against a predetermined range of answers. In order to get some objective responses there may be the need for anonymity. However, this could be supplemented by more subjective data from interviews, for example.

In any event, a questionnaire should be simple, with short and close ended questions. After designing the questionnaire, you will need to ensure that it is distributed to the whole group or a representative group if the target population is too large. After administering the questionnaire, you will have to analyse the information and use the results to allow you to make informed decisions about future development and strategies for improvement.

Interviews
Interviews may be structured (following a set list of questions) or unstructured (a discussion following no set plan) or semi-structured (partly set questions and partly free discussion). The last is the most common approach. You probably have used informal interviews many times to collect information from members of staff and will be aware of some of the problems surrounding this face-to-face technique of asking questions and taking note of the answers

You might like to spend a few moments jotting down some of the advantages and disadvantages of interviews.

You will no doubt agree that a major advantage of interviewing is its adaptability. A good interviewer will be able to follow up leads: ‘You mentioned that…’, ‘Could you explain…’; probe responses: ‘Why do you think that?’ and generally get closer to an interviewee’s true feelings, motives or attitudes. This is something which a questionnaire can never do.
The problems are, of course, that a good interview can be very time-consuming and there are many opportunities for bias. This can be as a result of the way in which the questions are asked and also as a result of respondents giving an ‘acceptable’ but inaccurate answer. Preparing for and undertaking interviews and analysing the information collected requires considerable care and attention.

In sum, as with many of the other techniques discussed here, the choice should be determined by the sorts of information you wish to collect, why and from whom. For example, if you want to obtain information form younger pupils, you would probably obtain better results from talking with them rather than asking them to write responses in a questionnaire.

Systematic record keeping
It is a useful exercise for the head to draw up a checklist of important school records which should be in place at regular times in the school and then to evaluate the purpose which such records are expected to serve in the school and their quality, especially in relation to whether they directly or indirectly have an effect on the quality of learning and teaching. In the process, the head will not only have a useful set of records but will also have a list of staff who are responsible for keeping such records

Below is an example of a checklist of equipment, records and facilities which should be in place for the effective management of the school laboratory (excluding a list of specific science equipment).

Activity 3.4
Draw up a checklist similar to the one below of the records and equipment which should be available for the general operation of the Art Department of your school. You might like to consider how often in a school term you would actually use the list and how you might use it to evaluate the general effectiveness of the administration of that department.

Comments
One of the important points to remember about such systematic records is that for them to be useful for monitoring the effectiveness of leadership and management, they must be maintained and regularly updated. They can provide a criterion against which evaluation can be made. For example, taking Item 5 below, a quick assessment can be made as to whether the information in the stock book is up-to-date.

To see a fully formatted version of this chart, see original printed document or downloadable PDF version from this website

Equipment and facilities record

Stock Number
EQUIPMENT RECORD

1. Sand bucket
2. Fire extinguisher
3. Fire blanket
4. First Aid box
5. Stock book
6. Breakage book
7. Fume box
8. Gas/electricity supply
9. Rules and regulations on use of laboratory
10. Subject syllabus
11. Schemes of work
12. Mark books
13. Departmental library

OFFICER/TEACHER RESPONSIBLE

1. Science teacher
2. Head
3. Head
4. School secretary
5. Science teacher
6. Science teacher
7. Head
8. Head/Science teacher
9. Science teacher
10.Department head / Science teacher
11. Department head / Science teacher

12. Science Teacher

13. Science Teacher

REMARKS

1. Available at all times
2. Functioning always
3. Available
4. Should contain essential items of first aid
5.To be kept up-to-date
6. To be kept up-to-date
7. Available
8. Available
9. To be displayed conspicuously
10.Current syllabus
11. Break down on weekly basis for each year
12. Available at all times
13. Available

Discussion groups
There are sometimes specific situations in a school where an evaluation would be best made by using the views of a range of appropriate groups in the school. This method must be used with care especially when seeking the views of pupils in the school. We must be careful not to undermine teachers in the presence of their students. It is often used, therefore, when evaluating situations which do not involve the process of learning and teaching; perhaps the general welfare of the children in the school. It is often better conducted in separate groups of children and adults.

Let us consider an example where there have been repeated complaints by pupils and parents about the general quality of food available in a school dining hall or snackette. It would be difficult for the head to obtain an accurate evaluation of the catering services in the school without seeking the views and opinions of all involved: the catering officers, cooks, house parents in a boarding school, and those who supervise the pupils during meals and the pupils themselves. Thus, one obvious approach to the evaluation of the catering system would be to call a series of meetings of this group of people to address the issue.

The views and advice of these people would no doubt go a long way towards an accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of the catering services in the school. Can you suggest other sources or methods of obtaining information? You will probably have thought that a questionnaire might usefully be administered or individual interviews undertaken. Frequently, a combination of evaluation techniques is most likely to provide the range of information which is needed in order to draw conclusions.

Evaluation and external agencies
In Guyana, schools are externally supervised by the officers of the Regional Departments of Education – DEOs and REDO. A set format is used for these supervisory visits. They are scheduled with and without warning. If you do not already have a copy, you would be well advised to obtain information about the latest regulations on such visits from the Department of Education.

Monitoring of education delivery in the eleven Education Districts is done by the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Development Unit (MERD), headed by the Deputy Chief Education Officer (MERD). The MERD Unit is located at the Central Ministry. It has now absorbed all of the Inspectorate Unit as regards quality assurance.

Currently, the MERD Unit conducts a monitoring visit to each Education Department twice per year. A new monitoring instrument has been devised for use in the monitoring visits to regions to gather information on the management and supervisory practices of officers and school leaders. The emphasis is on self evaluation at every level from the Departments of Education through to the schools and the individual teachers. A sample of schools is also visited to validate the data presented on them by the officers.

An outcome of the visit to the Department of Education and selected schools is the Report of Findings which is submitted to the:-

Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Education)
Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Local Government)
Chief Education Officer
Regional Executive Officer
Deputy Chief Education Officers (Administration and Technical)
Chairman of the Regional Education Committee
Regional Education Officer.

A copy of the Report of Findings is sent to the national print media for publishing

The Permanent Secretary (MOE) convenes a meeting with senior officers of the Ministries of Education and Local Government to analyse the Report of Findings and to determine the necessary follow-up actions to be taken, one of which is the scheduling of a Feedback Meeting with stakeholders in the particular Education District.

The Feedback Meeting in the Education District is chaired by the Chief Education Officer. Those in attendance are:-

Senior Officers from the Ministries of Education and Local Government
Regional Executive Officer
Chairman, Regional Education Committee
Head of Department of Education
District Education Officers
School Welfare Officers
Regional Information Technology Officer
Regional Assessment Officer

One of the expected outcomes of the Feedback Meeting is the identification of leadership, managerial, evaluative and pedagogical needs of officers and school staff, for which training packages aimed at addressing those needs are subsequently prepared. Another outcome is the highlighting of issues to be reflected in an Action Plan to be prepared by the Head of Department of Education and staff, copies of which are subsequently sent to the Permanent Secretaries (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Local Government) through the Regional Executive Officer A Monthly Status Report on the implementation of the Action Plan is also sent to them.

The Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Education) convenes monthly meetings with the Chief Education Officer, members of the Education Systems Committee and the staff of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Development Unit to analyse those Monthly Status Reports and to determine the need for other interventions deemed necessary for capacity building in the Education District.

It is important for the head to be familiar with the work and methods of operation of external agencies who are involved in evaluation, such as the Department of Education and the MERD Unit. It likely that some of the techniques used by these bodies for the evaluation of schools can be adapted for use in schools and exposure to new ideas and innovative practices in the evaluation of schools will be useful. In this respect, the head could obtain copies of reports of inspections carried out by the MERD Unit as well as guidelines used by subject specialists for the development of subject areas in schools.

Others are also involved in education in all of the regions. The Chair of the Regional Education Committee, The Regional Executive Officer and the Regional Chairperson may all play an important role in the quality assurance of education in the region and its schools. In Georgetown, this function is currently carried out by the Ministry of Education.

Activity 3.5
1) Obtain copies of the MERD guidelines and reports on various areas of inspection including individual subjects. Then examine them with respect to the techniques used to evaluate:

§ different subjects of the school curriculum;
§ school leadership, including management, administration and organisation;
§ extra-curricular activities;
§ school ethos.

2) Extract from these documents approaches which are applicable to the self-evaluation of your school, for use by the Senior Leadership Team, Senior Teachers, heads of departments and level heads.

Comments
School inspectors adopt a range of evaluation techniques in order to gather information, draw conclusions concerning all aspects of the school and make recommendations for improving school effectiveness. It is very likely that some of the practices adopted by inspectors can be used by you and your staff in order to undertake the self-evaluation of your programmes and teaching.

However, you will do well to remember that monitoring and evaluation should principally involve the core function of the school – learning and teaching and this cannot be evaluated by solely looking at paperwork, although scrutiny of notes of lessons etc. would be desirable. The only way to evaluate the quality of the learning process is to observe samples of lessons and scrutinize children’s work. This would be done using pre-determined criteria so that teachers and pupils would be clear about your expectations.

A critical examination of the reports of external agencies such as the inspectorate should provide you with some useful insights into how to plan and execute a programme of evaluation. Many of these are available on the internet, especially from the USA and the UK in the form of inspection reports for education departments and individual schools. You will find some good examples at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ with thousands of inspection reports for schools in Great Britain. This is the Office for Standards in Education in the UK (OFSTED) We will focus on planning a programme of evaluation the next unit.

Before completing this unit, consider the main areas of school life, including the curriculum, staff and students, discipline, pastoral care, environment, finance and resources, etc., and the evaluation techniques which you have been introduced to in this unit. Think about the techniques you might develop and apply in each area in order to help contribute towards improving school effectiveness.

Summary
In this unit you have been introduced to some important techniques of monitoring and evaluation, including: observation of lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work, questionnaires, interviews, discussion groups, continuous assessment and the systematic keeping of records. You have also learnt that whichever techniques you use, you first have to record the information gathered carefully in order to be able to analyse it and make judgements concerning the questions being asked and issues addressed.

Developing evaluation instruments and analysing information may be a little technical and you may therefore need to set up a committee in your school to design lesson observation and scrutiny of work proforma, effective school assessment instruments like questionnaires, interview questions, observations, record keeping methods and to devise ways of analysing the data and information collected. Such a committee can also help guide the planning and execution of an ongoing programme of school evaluation, as explained in the next unit. Your Department of Education should also be able to give you considerable help in this.

We have considered the way in which external agencies such as the MERD Unit will tackle the inspection of your region and some of the schools within it as well as the attendant reporting procedures.

However, first and foremost you must remember the reasons why you are monitoring the provision of education in your school and evaluating the results. It is to improve school effectiveness and increase the learning capacity of the children.