EVALUATION OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING - WHAT ROOM FOR THE COMPARATIVE APPROACH

This article discusses the role and significance of comparative evalua tion for improving education and training. It stresses that sound poli cy decisions require increasingly quantitative, as opposed to purely q ualitative, measures of educational performance. These must, however b e built on valid comparisons: so inter-country statistics should be in terpreted with caution while statistical trends within a single countr y or region can prove most revealing. The article suggests avenues for further research and a summary of current evaluation activity is appe nded.