Are some school inspectors more lenient than others?

Bokhove, Christian, Jerrim, John and Sims, Samuel (2023) Are some school inspectors more lenient than others? School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 34 (4), 419-441. (doi:10.1080/09243453.2023.2240318).

Record type: Article

Abstract

School inspections are a common feature of education systems across the world. These involve trained professionals visiting schools and reaching judgements about the quality of education they provide. Yet there is currently little academic research investigating the consistency of school inspections, including how judgements vary across inspectors with different characteristics. We present new empirical evidence on this matter, drawing upon data from more than 30,000 school inspections conducted in England between 2011 and 2019. Male inspectors are found to award slightly more lenient judgements to primary schools than their female counterparts, while permanent Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) employees (Her Majesty’s Inspectors) are found to be harsher than those who inspect schools on a freelance basis (Ofsted Inspectors).

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Accepted/In Press date: 18 July 2023

e-pub ahead of print date: 28 July 2023

Published date: 28 July 2023

Additional Information: Funding Information: The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social wellbeing. It funds research that informs social policy, primarily in Education, Welfare, and Justice. It also funds student programmes that provide opportunities for young people to develop skills in quantitative and scientific methods. The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Ada Lovelace Institute. The Foundation has funded this project, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation. Visit www.nuffieldfoundation.org. We are grateful for their support. Helpful comments have been received on the draft from our project advisory group, whom we would like to thank for their input and support. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords: Ofsted, accountability, consistency, school inspection