Report: Performance Management—The Key to Higher Standards in Schools?

The object of this article is to make a critical review of a series of official documents which have emanated from the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), since the Labour Government came to office in 1997, on performance management in schools. This technique is seen by the Government as crucial in improving standards in schools. The key documents are shown in the list of references at the end of the article, and our review is divided into two parts: the first considers the defining features of performance management in schools and the role which the Government sees it playing in improving standards; the second part explores some key tensions in the performance management framework.