How valid are school inspections? Problems and strategies for validating processes and results

School inspections are fundamental to quality assurance and improvement in many countries. Yet the question of the validity of these inspections has not yet been comprehensively addressed. This paper proposes a systematic approach to assessing the validity of school inspections, based on Messick's multifaceted concept of validity. We apply each aspect of Messick's concept to the process of school inspections, surveying research to identify...