According to article 140 of Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE), amended by Organic Law 3/2020 (LOMLOE), the evaluation of the education system has several purposes:

• contribute to improving the quality and equity of education;
• direct educational policies;
• increase the transparency and effectiveness of the education system;
• offer information on the degree of compliance with the improvement objectives established by the education authorities;
• provide information on the degree of achievement of the Spanish and European educational objectives, as well as on compliance with the educational commitments made concerning the demand of the Spanish society and the goals set in the context of the European Union.

These purposes shall not allow the results of the assessments of the education system, regardless of the state or regional territorial scope in which they are applied, to be used for individual assessments of pupils or to establish school rankings.

To this end, the education system has two differentiated pathways: educational inspection and educational evaluation.

Educational inspection

The educational inspection must be conducted on all elements and aspects of the education system, in order to ensure compliance with the law, the guarantee of rights and duties of those participating in the teaching and learning processes, the improvement of the education system, and the quality and equity of education.

Educational inspection of non-university levels

The inspection of non-university education is regulated by the LOE, as amended by the LOMLOE. In accordance with the decentralised nature of the Spanish education system, the inspection of non-university education is organised at two levels, state and regional:

• State: the State Education Inspectorate, which has the legal authority and the duty to inspect and authorise the education system at national level. It has the power to supervise all types of university education ensuring compliance with the regulations established by the State in all the Autonomous Communities. It is present in the 17 autonomous communities.
• Regional: the educational inspection of non-university education, which is organised, regulated and conducted by the education authorities of each autonomous community in their respective regions. This inspection is carried out by the bodies that evaluate the education system in the autonomous communities that have so decided or by units of the education administration not exclusively dedicated to this activity. Their functions include the evaluation of teaching staff, with a threefold purpose:
  • training: to contribute to improving professional teaching practice;
  • professional recognition: the assessment obtained can be accredited as a merit in the processes that so establish it;
  • for determining teaching suitability or competence: in the assessment of the practical phase of selection processes and in the evaluation of professional practice in order to recognise or dismiss the said teaching competence.

Educational inspection of university levels

The following bodies are responsible for the inspection of university education:

• The external control bodies of the different autonomous communities. The universities are required to report to these bodies on their economic and financial management, without prejudice to the powers of the Court of Auditors.
• Internal control system for economic-financial management, which must, in any case, include an internal audit system. The body responsible for this control has functional autonomy in its duties and may not depend on the university's single-member governing bodies.
• The Governing Council of each university. One of its functions is to approve the regulations governing the operation of the services inspection and the procedures for the annual reporting of its accounts.
• The service inspection of the universities themselves. It operates according to the principles of independence and autonomy. Its function is to ensure the correct functioning of the services provided by the university institution in accordance with the laws and regulations in force. Likewise, within the framework of the applicable legislation, it is responsible for initiating and investigating disciplinary proceedings affecting members of the university community. 
   

Educational evaluation

In addition, the educational evaluation is considered as an essential element in order to improve the transparency of the education system and should therefore cover all its areas.

The Evaluation must provide relevant information on the degree the education system achieves the goals established by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport (MEFD) and the autonomous communities. It must also be applied to the teaching and learning processes and their results, to the educational context, with special reference to the schooling and admission of students, to educational resources, to the activity of the teaching staff, to the management function, to the functioning of educational institutions, to inspection and to the educational administrations themselves.

Educational evaluation of non-university levels

The evaluation of non-university education is regulated by Title VI of the LOE, modified by the LOMLOE. It is organised into three levels:

• The State is responsible for the coordination of the general evaluation of the education system. The body that assumes this responsibility is the National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE), a body belonging to the MEFD.
• The regional education authorities carry out that evaluation in their respective management areas.
• The educational institutions develop internal evaluation mechanisms with the support of the education authorities.

Educational evaluation of university education

The evaluation of university education has a more complex structure due to the convergence of the principles of accountability and university. The evaluation of the university system is regulated by artoicle 5 of Organic Law 2/2023 on the University System (LOSU). The promotion and guarantee of this quality is a shared responsibility of the universities, the evaluation agencies and the Public Administrations with competences in this area.

In order to provide an external guarantee of quality and contribute to its constant improvement, the LOSU attributes various functions, such as the evaluation of teaching staff, to the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) and to the assessment agencies of the autonomous communities integrated in the Spanish Network of University Quality Agencies (REACU) and registered in the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR), within the scope of their respective competences.

Universities, as autonomous institutions, develop their own control and supervision mechanisms.