The evaluation of the educational system aims at contributing to quality and equity improvement in education, orienting educational policies, increasing the transparency and efficiency of the educational system, offering information on the degree of fulfilment of the improvement objectives established by the educational administrations and providing information on the degree of achievement of the Spanish and European educational objectives.
To this end, the education system has two differentiated pathways: educational inspection and evaluation.
Educational inspection
It must be conducted on all elements and aspects of the education system, in order to ensure compliance with the law, the guarantee of rights and duties of those participating in the teaching and learning processes, the improvement of the education system, and the quality and equity of education.
In accordance with the decentralised nature of the Spanish education system, it is organised into two levels:
- the Educational Inspectorate, which has the legal authority and the duty to inspect and authorise the education system at national level. It has the power to supervise all types of education, both non-university and university, ensuring compliance with the regulations established by the State in all the Autonomous Communities. It is present in the 17 Autonomous Communities;
- the educational inspection of non-university education, which is organised, regulated and conducted by the education authorities of the Autonomous Communities in their respective regions.
Educational evaluation
Evaluation in the education system is considered as an essential element in order to improve the transparency of the education system and should therefore cover all its areas. The evaluation, therefore, must:
- provide relevant information on the degree the education system achieves the goals established by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MEFP) and the Autonomous Communities
- It must be carried out for:
- learning processes and students’ results;
- teachers’ activity;
- educational processes;
- the managerial function;
- the running of schools, inspection and education authorities themselves.
Educational evaluation of non-university levels
It is regulated by Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE) , modified by Education Law 3/2020 (LOMLOE). It is organised into three levels:
- the State is responsible for the coordination of the general evaluation of the education system
- regional education authorities carry out that evaluation in their respective management areas
- educational institutions develop internal evaluation mechanisms with the support of the education authorities.
Educational evaluation of university education
It has a more complex structure due to the convergence of the principles of accountability and university autonomy. The evaluation of quality is regulated by Act on Universities 6/2001(LOU) and modified by Act 4/2007, and it is the responsibility of the Autonomous Communities.
With the purpose of bringing external quality assurance to the university system and contributing to its constant improvement, the Act on Universities established the creation of a National Agency to evaluate university provision, research, teaching and management activity, and services and programmes.
Universities, as autonomous institutions, develop their own control and supervision mechanisms.