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INTRODUCTION The OECD's Education Policy Committee launched the Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes in 2009 to provide analysis and policy advice to countries on how different assessment and evaluation tools can be embedded within a consistent framework to bring about real gains in performance across the school system.The policy process needs to recognise that: reaching agreements on the design of the evaluation and assessment framework requires time for discussions and consultations with all stakeholders; developing expertise in the system, including training evaluators is expensive and requires time; conducting evaluation processes induces additional workload for school agents; and aligning broader school reforms such as professional development opportunities with evaluation and assessment strategies requires more educational resources.For example, there might be room for increased integration between teacher evaluation, school evaluation and school development, between the evaluation system and overall educational research, between evaluation and the labour market, and so on. Policy development needs to involve a reflection on the different components of the framework such as school assessment, teacher appraisal, or standardised national-level student tests to assess students' progress, and ways in which they can be articulated to achieve the purposes of the framework.GOVERNANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION Ensuring articulations within the evaluation and assessment framework Every country typically has provisions for student assessment, teacher evaluation, school evaluation and system evaluation, but often these are not explicitly integrated and there is no strategy to ensure that the different components of the framework can mutually reinforce each other.Since evaluation has strong stakes for the units assessed and since school outcomes heavily depend on individual relationships and cooperation at the school level, successful feedback mechanisms require particular attention to developing competencies and defining responsibilities in the evaluation process.Developing competencies for evaluation and for using feedback The effectiveness of evaluation and assessment relies to a great extent on ensuring that both those who design and undertake evaluation activities as well as those who use their results possess the proper skills and competencies.This Issues Note outlines common policy challenges emerging from the analysis undertaken in the Review and is designed to stimulate discussion about evaluation and assessment policies among and within countries as the review proceeds.Other obstacles may be a sense of unfairness by those being evaluated, excessive bureaucratic demands on schools, lack of resources to implement evaluation policies or inadequate dissemination of evaluation results by the media.The Review includes a thorough analysis of the evidence on evaluation and assessment, in-depth review of evaluation and assessment policies in a range of countries and a synthesis report comparing country experience and drawing out general lessons for policy development.It is important to explore the role of bargaining processes as well as that of incentive structures in facilitating compliance with new policies, as a way to ensure policy implementation in the longer term.A number of strategies can reinforce the linkages between the evaluation and assessment framework and classroom practice.

INTRODUCTION
The OECD’s Education Policy Committee launched the Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes in 2009 to provide analysis and policy advice to countries on how different assessment and evaluation tools can be embedded within a consistent framework to bring about real gains in performance across the school system.
The Review includes a thorough analysis of the evidence on evaluation and assessment, in-depth review of evaluation and assessment policies in a range of countries and a synthesis report comparing country experience and drawing out general lessons for policy development.
This Issues Note outlines common policy challenges emerging from the analysis undertaken in the Review and is designed to stimulate discussion about evaluation and assessment policies among and within countries as the review proceeds.
GOVERNANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION
Ensuring articulations within the evaluation and assessment framework
Every country typically has provisions for student assessment, teacher evaluation, school evaluation and system evaluation, but often these are not explicitly integrated and there is no strategy to ensure that the different components of the framework can mutually reinforce each other.
A strategic approach to the development of the evaluation and assessment framework provides an opportunity to reflect on the articulations between the different evaluation components. For example, there might be room for increased integration between teacher evaluation, school evaluation and school development, between the evaluation system and overall educational research, between evaluation and the labour market, and so on.
Policy development needs to involve a reflection on the different components of the framework such as school assessment, teacher appraisal, or standardised national-level student tests to assess students’ progress, and ways in which they can be articulated to achieve the purposes of the framework. The key aspect is to determine how the different components need to be interrelated in order to generate complementarities, avoid duplication, and prevent inconsistency of objectives.
Developing competencies for evaluation and for using feedback
The effectiveness of evaluation and assessment relies to a great extent on ensuring that both those who design and undertake evaluation activities as well as those who use their results possess the proper skills and competencies. This is crucial to provide the necessary legitimacy to those responsible for evaluation and assessment.
Since evaluation has strong stakes for the units assessed and since school outcomes heavily depend on individual relationships and cooperation at the school level, successful feedback mechanisms require particular attention to developing competencies and defining responsibilities in the evaluation process.
In addition, competencies for using feedback to improve practice are also vital to ensure that evaluation and assessment procedures are effective. Assessment for improvement requires the inclusion of actors such as teachers in the process of school development and improvement. As a result, for instance, it is pertinent to include training for evaluation in initial teacher education alongside the development of research skills.
Similarly, the preparation to become a school leader is expected to include educational leadership with some emphasis on feedback mechanisms. Particular groups such as inspectorates are also in a good position to engage in modelling and disseminating good practice in areas such as school assessment and teacher appraisal.
Securing links with classroom practice
Evaluation and assessment frameworks have no value if they do not lead to the improvement of classroom practice and student learning. Securing effective links to classroom practice is a key policy challenge in the design of evaluation and assessment frameworks.
A number of strategies can reinforce the linkages between the evaluation and assessment framework and classroom practice. A strong emphasis on teacher evaluation for the continuous improvement of teaching practices within the school is one key link. Another lever is to involve teachers in school evaluation, in particular through conceiving school self-evaluation as a collective process with responsibilities for teachers.
Another important instrument is ensuring that teachers are seen as the main experts not only in instructing but also in assessing their students, so teachers feel the ownership of student assessment and accept it as an integral part of teaching and learning. Extra approaches include supporting teachers in their daily practice through clear student goals and grading criteria, and building capacity through adequate training on assessment literacy. These strategies mostly build on teacher professionalism.
Evaluation and assessment frameworks will not be able to improve student learning if they are not accompanied by appropriate incentives to motivate change and provide focused support for teachers in classrooms. Indeed, the focus on improving linkages to classroom practice is one of the most critical points for designing an effective evaluation and assessment framework.
Overcoming challenges of implementation
Implementation difficulties may arise as a result of a wide range of factors. There might be little experience with, and tradition of, evaluation or a system may be unprepared to undertake large scale evaluation as a result of the limited professional expertise of those with responsibility to evaluate. Other obstacles may be a sense of unfairness by those being evaluated, excessive bureaucratic demands on schools, lack of resources to implement evaluation policies or inadequate dissemination of evaluation results by the media.
It is therefore important for policy to overcome the challenges of implementation. This includes reconciling the diverging interests of stakeholders, carefully analysing policy alternatives along with their likely impact and discussing them with stakeholders to aim towards consensus. It is important to explore the role of bargaining processes as well as that of incentive structures in facilitating compliance with new policies, as a way to ensure policy implementation in the longer term. Other strategies include pilot projects before wide-scale implementation.
The policy process needs to recognise that: reaching agreements on the design of the evaluation and assessment framework requires time for discussions and consultations with all stakeholders; developing expertise in the system, including training evaluators is expensive and requires time; conducting evaluation processes induces additional workload for school agents; and aligning broader school reforms such as professional development opportunities with evaluation and assessment strategies requires more educational resources.