This paper addresses the initial phase of a UK DFID/ESRC funded study: Improving Educational Evaluation and Quality in China (IEEQC). The research started May 2008 and seeks to provide new insights and extend current theories about (i) the impact of student and school characteristics on students attainment and progress at senior secondary school, (ii) the relevance of these factors in the evaluation of school performance in China and (iii) how western approaches to defining and evaluating educational quality may have been adapted and developed to take account of local contexts and priorities. In collaboration with key stakeholders (national and local policy makers, teachers, students) the study aims to develop innovation in school evaluation and guidelines for implementation to enhance school improvement efforts in China.

The study involves two complimentary strands that are being conducted in collaboration with the China National Institute for Educational Research (CNIER), City/County level education authorities and senior secondary schools in China. The first strand (study 1) aims to explore the nature and extent of school and teacher/class effectiveness in China using innovative quantitative methodology (multilevel modeling) to analyse longitudinal examination datasets. The second strand (study 2) involves the collection of new qualitative data (interviews with key stakeholders: headteachers, teachers, students, policy makers) to explore the way educational quality is defined and assessed in China as well as how international research on school effectiveness, evaluation and self evaluation may have been applied and adapted in the Chinese context. The specific focus of the paper will be on critiquing current relevant literature and reflecting on emerging findings from IEEQC study 2 in terms of stakeholders’ views about using assessment for school improvement.