Evaluation and Research in Education
Editor: Professor Keith Morrison, Inter-University Institute of Macau
Associate Editor: Professor Stephen Gorard, University of York
Statistical Adviser: Professor Colin Baker, University of Wales Bangor
Reviews Editor: Dr. Emma Smith, University of York
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Volume: 12 Number: 3 Page: 125–139
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OFSTED Inspection Reports and the Language of Educational Improvement
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C. Field, D. Greenstreet, P. Kusel and C. Parsons
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The written OFSTED report is the most enduring outcome of a school inspection. This paper examines the 'fitness for purpose' of such reports, in that the current inspection system carries the motto of 'improvement
through inspection'. The value of converting set scales and numerical grades into prose is closely scrutinised, and the less frequent qualitative statements are analysed as examples of educational discourse.
The validity and reliability of judgements presented in the reports, produced within two different frameworks and sets of guidance is scrutinised, with a view to questioning the overall effectiveness of
the OFSTED inspection report as an instrument for school improvement.
© Multilingual Matters 1998
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