The Seven Class Measures Standards

For School Accountability

Quality Inspectors
All inspectors shall be highly qualified inspectors with knowledge of the type of school and curriculum area they are to review. All inspectors shall be trained in the craft of their work. All inspectors shall serve an apprenticeship on at least one review.

Sufficiency
All school inspections and other such reviews shall be staffed appropriately. One inspector per 100 students shall be allocated as a minimum to any formal visit for the purpose of inspection. For schools of less than 100 students two inspectors shall attend. Under no circumstances shall one inspector be allocated to a school inspection.

Objectivity and Evidence
School inspectors shall be trained to be objective; to record only what they see, hear or read and to review it without bias for the sole purpose of evaluating its impact on improving student learning. Inspectors shall collect evidence for all observations made that shall be of sufficient weight and so properly recorded that it can be referred to in a written report.

Due Diligence
School Inspectors shall develop hypotheses and pursue inquiry until they fully understand a piece of work in progress and can describe it with clarity, even where this requires them to work beyond the hours of the on-site inspection of the school. All inspectors shall be properly prepared for the inspection, having fully familiarized themselves with available documentation and data, and having arrived at the site in good time.

Equity
Wherever possible, the inspection team will reflect the rich diversity of the world community. Inspection teams will report on: equity of provision; equity of improvement and equity of progress, reporting particularly on any groups of students who appear under served and/or who do not improve and/or make sufficient progress.

Learning Focused
Not less than 50% of time in school will focus directly on student learning. This may be by direct observation of classes in session, individual study such as in a library or student study hall, looking at student work, or interviewing students about their learning, individually or in a focus group.

Code of Conduct
Inspectors shall adhere to a strict code of conduct with which they will be familiar prior to the inspection; this shall include the requirement for confidentiality; empathy; good team-skills; declaration of conflicts of interest and the requirement to behave with dignity and sensitivity to the intrusion that any inspection puts upon a school.