Quality assessment: two traditions (a review article)

Abstract

Identifies two approaches to quality assessment in education. The Higher Education Funding Council for England favours the control paradigm which renders assessment political. Until recently, Her Majesty′s Inspectorate (HMI) practised assessment within the enhancement paradigm, intended to enhance the practice of the assessed tutor or teacher. Evaluation should be based on a review of evidence, but is now widely treated as a simple matter of political rhetoric by apologists for control. The control paradigm cannot be properly evaluated for some time, but the changing practice of HMI examined here, raises important questions: could control also bring about enhancement, or does change from enhancement to control necessarily involve relinquishing key values?

Citation

Withers, R. (1995), "Quality assessment: two traditions (a review article)", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 39-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684889510087845