Early childhood and school education have two different ways of carrying out quality assurance: educational evaluation and inspection, as stipulated in Titles VI and VII of Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE), as amended by Organic Law 3/2020 (LOMLOE). The evaluation of these stages is considered a fundamental element for the improvement of education and for increasing the transparency of the education system. For its part, the inspection of these stages also contributes to improvement, supporting key aspects to achieve this progress.

Quality assurance in these stages extends to all educational areas regulated in LOE and is applied to teaching and learning processes and their results, to the educational context, with special reference to schooling and admission of students, to educational resources, to the activity of teachers, to the management function, to the functioning of education institutions, to inspection and to the education authorities themselves.

LOMLOE, in 2020, repealed Organic Law 8/2013 for the improvement of the quality of education (LOMCE) and amended LOE of 2006. The main developments in terms of quality evaluation have been the following:

• The principles that should govern its actions have been established: legality, professionalism, independence, impartiality, efficiency and transparency.
• New functions and powers are assigned to the education inspection of non-university levels:
  • evaluation of all institutions, their services and programmes, and of the management function, which it will guide and advise;
  • participation in meetings of collegiate or teaching co-ordination bodies.

Responsible bodies

The bodies responsible for the evaluation of the quality of the education system in early childhood, primary and secondary education are the following:

• State Education Inspectorate;
• National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE), which reports to the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD);
• education inspection bodies of the autonomous communities;
• bodies for the evaluation of the education system in the autonomous communities.

State Education Inspectorate

The State Education Inspectorate features the following particularities:

• It is carried out by the State through the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD).
• It is in charge of ensuring compliance with the powers conferred on the State as well as observance of the constitutional principles and regulations and the different acts on education throughout the national territory.
• It is organized as a peripheral service of the General State Administration and is integrated in the government delegations in each autonomous community.
• The government delegations coordinate these services in the field of non-university education, submit to the MEFD the reports and minutes derived from the State Inspectorate's performance in this area, and also establish the corresponding collaboration with the autonomous communities.

Its powers are as follows:

• to check compliance with the requirements established by the State in the general organisation of the education system in terms of modalities, stages, cycles and specialities of education, as well as in terms of the number of years that correspond in each case;
• to check the inclusion of the basic aspects of the curriculum within the curricula established by the education authorities and that these are followed in accordance with State regulations;
• to check compliance with the conditions for obtaining qualifications, as well as their academic or professional effects;
• to ensure compliance with the basic conditions that guarantee the equality of all Spaniards in the exercise of their rights and duties in the field of education, as well as their linguistic rights;
• to verify the adequacy of the granting of subsidies and scholarships financed from the General State Budget, in accordance with the general criteria established by the provisions of the State.

National Institute for Educational Evaluation of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports

The National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE) is the body of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD) responsible for the evaluation of the Spanish education system, in collaboration with the education authorities. 

This collaboration was established in 2004 with the creation of the Educational Evaluation Working Group (GTEE), coordinated by the INEE, in which the autonomous communities participate by sending representatives to the annual meetings. Its objectives are as follows:

• to serve as an instrument of representation of the educational administrations in the area of educational evaluation, as well as to become a stable information and participation body for decision-making in these matters;
• to provide cohesion and homogeneity to the evaluation of the Spanish education system through the creation and coordination of working groups and committees dealing with specific technical aspects, such as the development of common diagnostic frameworks or the development of the National System of Education Indicators.

INEE's functions and responsibilities are set out in Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE), as amended by Organic Law 3/2020 (LOMLOE) and in Royal Decree 498/2020, which develops the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (the Royal Decree developing the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport, restructured on 29 December 2023, is still pending processing), and are as follows:

• the coordination of policies for the general evaluation of the education system;
• the establishment of methodological and scientific standards guaranteeing the quality, validity and reliability of educational evaluations;
• the development of a common evaluation framework to serve as a reference for diagnostic evaluations, together with the corresponding bodies of the education administrations;
• the implementation, in collaboration with the relevant bodies in the education administrations, of the evaluations assigned to the MEFD by the regulations in force;
• the development of a common evaluation framework to serve as a reference for diagnostic evaluations, together with the corresponding bodies of the education administrations;
• the preparation of the National System of Education Indicators, which contribute to the knowledge of the education system, as well as to guide the decision-making by educational institutions and all sectors involved in education. The data necessary for their making are provided to the MEFD by the education authorities of the autonomous communities;
• the carrying out of research and evaluation studies of the education system, as well as the dissemination of the information and knowledge offered by these actions and by national and international evaluations;
• the management of information and documentation networks on education systems (EURYDICE-Spain, REDIE and others).

The MEFD periodically publishes the conclusions of general interest of the evaluations carried out by the INEE in collaboration with the education authorities, and makes available the information provided by the National System of Education Indicators.

Education inspection of the autonomous communities

The education inspection of the autonomous communities is carried out on all elements and aspects of the education system in their area of management. It is the link between the education authorities and the educational institutions, and plays a key role in the external evaluation processes of these institutions.

Its main functions are as follows:

• to monitor, evaluate and control, from a pedagogical and organisational point of view, respecting the framework of autonomy of the institutions themselves;
• to supervise teaching practice and the managerial function, and collaborate in its continuous improvement;
• to participate in the evaluation of the education system and of the elements that comprise it;
• to ensure compliance in educational centres with the acts, regulations and other provisions in force that affect the educational system;
• to ensure compliance with and implementation of the principles and values set out in the LOE, including those aimed at promoting real equality between men and women;
• to provide counselling, guidance and information to the different sectors of the educational community in the exercise of their rights and in the fulfilment of their obligations;
• to submit the reports required by the relevant education authorities, or those arising from the knowledge of the education inspection's own reality, through the regulatory channels;
• to guide management teams in the adoption and monitoring of measures that favour coexistence, the participation of the educational community and the resolution of conflicts, promoting and participating, when necessary, in mediation processes.

The autonomous communities regulate and approve the instructions for the organisation and operation of their education inspectorates. In those autonomous communities which have defined and approved their own Plan for the Evaluation of Educational Institutions, the education inspectorate carries out the external evaluation in accordance with this plan, which in some cases involves collaboration with other regional evaluation bodies.

Education inspection is carried out by civil servants belonging to the Corps of Education Inspectors. In the performance of their duties, they are considered public authorities and their powers are as follows:

• to know, supervise and observe all the activities carried out in the educational institutions, both public and private, to which they will have free access;
• to examine and check any academic, pedagogical and administrative documentation of educational institutions;
• to receive the necessary collaboration of the rest of the civil servants and staff in charge of the institutions and educational services, both public and private, for the development of their activities;
• to participate in the meetings of the collegiate or teaching coordination bodies of the institutions, respecting the exercise of the autonomy that the law recognises, as well as taking part in commissions, boards and tribunals, when so determined;
• to submit reports and make requests when non-compliances are detected in the application of the regulations, and draw up minutes, either on their own initiative or at the request of the corresponding administrative authority;
• any other duties attributed to it by the education authorities, within the scope of their competences.

Bodies for the evaluation of the education system in the Autonomous Communities

Some autonomous communities have set up specific bodies for the evaluation of the education system. In some others, this type of evaluation is undertaken by units of the education authority that are not exclusively devoted to this activity.

The main functions of these bodies in the non-university area in all autonomous communities are as follows:

• the implementation of the general evaluations of the education system and the development and monitoring of diagnostic evaluations in the fourth year of primary education and in the second year of compulsory secondary education;
• the cooperation in the implementation of the National System of Education Indicators.

In addition, education authorities entrust these other functions to these bodies:

• the evaluation of educational institutions;
• the drafting of reports;
• the dissemination and promotion of the results of educational evaluation;
• any processes that may contribute to the quality and improvement of teaching and education;
• educational research and innovation;
• the elaboration of educational indicators of the autonomous community.

Both the characteristics and the functions of these bodies are different in each autonomous community.

Approaches and methods for quality assurance

Quality assurance in early childhood, primary and secondary education is carried out at three different levels: state, regional and local (educational institution).

State level

Evaluation of the education system as a whole

At state level, the evaluation of the education system as a whole at this stages is the responsibility of the National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE), in collaboration with the education authorities of the autonomous communities. This evaluation is carried out through different mechanisms:

• the State System of Education Indicators (SEIE);
• external evaluations at the end of primary and compulsory secondary education;
• participation in international evaluation studies.

State System of Education Indicators (SEIE)

The SEIE  is a compilation of educational data in Spain drawn up by the National Institute for Educational Evaluation, together with the Sub-Directorate General for Statistics and Studies, with the aim of providing an overview of education in Spain. It has the following characteristics:

• It contributes to the knowledge of the education system, as well as to guiding the decision-making of education authorities and all sectors involved in education.
• It offers the results of the main educational statistics, both at national level and broken down by autonomous community.
• It provides international data placing the country in the framework of the OECD and the European Union.

The first version was published in 2000 and, since then, nineteen editions have been released, the latest in 2023.

Currently, the State System of Education Indicators comprises 19 indicators, which are in turn divided into sub-indicators corresponding to 3 dimensions. Their updating is variable and depends on the availability of new data:

1. Schooling and educational environment:
   • schooling and population;
   • schooling rates in the notional ages of non-compulsory levels;
   • foreign students;
   • vocational training;
   • participation in lifelong learning;
   • foreign language learning;
   • students with specific educational support needs;
   • students per group and per teacher;
   • teaching staff in the education system;
   • information and communication technologies in education and training.
2. Educational funding:
   • total expenditure on education;
   • expenditure on education per student.
3. Educational outcomes:
   • key competences in grade 4 of primary education;
   • students' age suitability;
   • early drop-out in education and training;
   • graduation rates;
   • level of training of adult population;
   • employment and unemployment rates by educational attainment;
   • labour income by educational attainment.

External evaluations at the end of primary and compulsory secondary education

The National Institute for Educational Assessment, in collaboration with the education authorities, within the framework of the general evaluation of the education system, is entrusted with the task of carrying out the evaluations that make it possible to obtain representative data, both of students and schools in the autonomous communities and at state level. These evaluations must focus on the competences established in the curriculum and are of sample and multi-annual nature. Furthermore, they must take into account pupils with special educational needs arising from disability, including, in the conditions for carrying out such assessments, the adaptations and resources they may have had.

End-of-stage assessments shall be carried out both at the end of primary education, in 6th grade, and at the end of secondary education, in 4th year of ESO. They will be informative, formative and guiding for schools, and informative for families and for the educational community as a whole.

Participation in international evaluation studies

Spain participates in a number of international studies on educational evaluation, including the following:

• INES (International Indicators of Education Systems), of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in which Spain participates since its creation in 1992.
• PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), of the OCDE. Spain has participated in all the cycles of the PISA Project and has drawn up national reports based on the Spanish results in this assessment programme. Its latest edition has been conducted in 2022. In turn, PISA 2025 will focus mainly on science, as well as assessing mathematics and reading skills, and will include an international foreign language assessment (in this first cycle it will be English).
• TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Under a common theoretical framework, progress in Mathematics and Science in the 4th year of primary education and in the 2nd year of compulsory secondary education is evaluated since1995. Spain participated in that edition and has done so again in the 4th year of primary education in 2011, 2015 and 2019. The next edition was conducted during 2023. The results are expected to be published in December 2024.
• PISA for Schools of the OCDE. It is an external evaluation with a focus on improvement. It is a student assessment tool intended to be used by schools and school clusters to support research, benchmarking and improvement efforts. It also provides information on how different factors, both internal and external to schools, are related to school performance. Spain took part in the pilot test in 2013. Participants include schools and groups of schools from all the autonomous communities, and to the management scope of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports. 
• PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), of the IEA. Spain has participated in the 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021  assessments conducted in the 4th year of primary education. 
• TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey), of the OECD. It analyses the learning environment and working conditions of teachers and school heads in the first three years of ESO (2008 and 2013) and in ESO and primary education (2018). In addition, the 2024 edition will also include the second cycle of early childhood education. 
• ICCS (International Civic and Citizenship Study) of the IEA. This study investigates the ways in which young people are prepared to play their role as members of citizenship in society. Spain participated in this study in its first edition in 2009, did not participate in 2016 and participated again in the 2022 edition.
• SSES (Social and Emotional Skills Survey), by the OECD. This international study, promoted by the OECD, analyses the social and emotional skills developed by students aged 10 and 15. Although it was carried out for the first time internationally in 2018, Spain began to participate in 2023 and only with 15-year-old students.
• ICILS (International Digital Literacy Study), of the IEA. It is an international study promoted to assess the digital competence of students in the 2nd year of ESO. Although it was carried out for the first time in 2013, with a periodicity of 5 years, Spain has begun to participate in the 2023 edition, which corresponds to the third cycle of the study. This edition includes an optional module to assess computational thinking and programming.

The National Institute for Educational Evaluation coordinates the participation of the Spanish State in international evaluations with the corresponding international organisations.

Regional level

At regional level, the education authorities of each autonomous community carry out the evaluation of the part of the education system corresponding to their area of management. In addition, each education authority in the autonomous communities, within its respective scope of action, exercises certain powers, the most important of which are as follows:

• to support and facilitate the self-evaluation of educational institutions;
• to draw up and implement plans for the evaluation of educational institutions, which must take into account the socio-economic and cultural situations of the families and pupils they welcome, the environment of the educational institution itself and the available resources;
• to draw up plans for the assessment of the management function in order to improve the functioning of schools;
• to encourage schools to draw up proposals for action that will help pupils to achieve the established competences, enable them to adopt measures to improve the quality and equity of education and guide teaching practice.

Evaluation of the education system in their territory

Each autonomous community carries out the evaluation of the part of the education system corresponding to its area of management through different mechanisms:

• a system of education indicators;
• diagnostic evaluations (external evaluations in primary education and compulsory secondary education);
• participation in international evaluation studies.

System of Education Indicators

Several autonomous communities draw up reports in which they analyse and detail the State System of Education Indicators in their territorial context. This is the case, for example, in Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands or the Basque Country.

Some have also developed their own indicators regarding the context, resources, processes and results of the education system. To do so, they use statistics and other information from a variety of sources, such as the educational administration itself, the National Statistics Institute, regional statistical institutes, Eurostat, international studies or diagnostic evaluations.

Diagnostic evaluations (external evaluations in primary and compulsory secondary education)

The INEE and the corresponding bodies of the education authorities of the autonomous communities collaborate in the development of a common assessment framework to serve as a reference for diagnostic evaluations.

Schools must carry out an annual evaluation of all pupils in the 4th year of primary education and in the 2nd year of compulsory secondary education, as provided for by the education authorities. The purpose of this assessment is diagnostic and at least the degree of mastery of competence in linguistic communication and mathematical competence is checked. These assessments are informative, formative and guiding in nature for schools, for teachers, for pupils and their families and for the educational community as a whole. Schools must take into account the results of these assessments in the design of their improvement plans.

It is the responsibility of the education authorities to develop and monitor the diagnostic assessments in which their schools participate and to provide the relevant models and support so that all schools can adequately carry out these assessments, which must be formative and internal in nature.

Under no circumstances may the results of these assessments be used for the establishment of school rankings.

Participation in international evaluation studies

With respect to international evaluation studies, all the autonomous communities have extended the PISA sample to obtain data representative of their territory. They also participate in other international assessment studies where they also extend the sample.

However, coordination with the corresponding international bodies for the participation of the different autonomous communities is the responsibility of the INEE, an agency of the MEFD.

Evaluation of educational institutions

The education authorities of the autonomous communities may, within the framework of their powers, draw up and carry out plans for the evaluation of educational institutions. These plans must take into account the socio-economic and cultural situations of the families and students they host, the environment of the centre itself and the resources available to it. They should also support and facilitate the self-evaluation of educational institutions.

External evaluation of educational institutions

Each autonomous community is responsible for the design and implementation of the mechanisms for the external evaluation of the educational institutions within its territory and, in addition, can establish its own self-evaluation or internal evaluation model. Because of their complementarity, they are jointly regulated in several regions. This is the case of, for example, Extremadura.

In addition, some of them draw up external evaluation plans including other mechanisms. Although they differ from one education authority to another, their most characteristic features are as follows:

• They vary in frequency, often coinciding with the term of the head.
• The responsible body, which is normally the Inspectorate, in some cases in collaboration with the bodies for evaluation and educational quality of the autonomous communities, defines the areas to be evaluated and normally establishes indicators.
• Contextual aspects, resources, processes and educational outcomes are evaluated. In some cases, other aspects are also assessed, such as, for example, equity conditions.
• The procedures used normally include the analysis of school documents, interviews and questionnaires from different sectors of the educational community, and direct observation of teaching and learning situations.
• The result of the evaluation is included in a report which is made available to the education authorities and the educational institution for the introduction of measures for improvement.

Spain's recent participation in PISA for Schools provides an additional method. 

Internal evaluation of educational institutions

Several autonomous communities, generally through their educational quality and evaluation agencies or bodies, have developed guidelines and orientations to support self-evaluation or internal evaluation of their educational institutions. They address different aspects such as evaluation areas, indicators, procedures or instruments, or advice for the drawing up of an improvement plan. An example is Castilla La Mancha.

This type of evaluation is normally annual although, in some cases, it is indicated that it is continuous and its results are collected in the external evaluations according to the timeframe stipulated for these. In general, the school management is responsible for the coordination of the internal evaluation process and the Inspectorate undertakes advisory or supervisory tasks.

In addition, some autonomous communities, Comunitat Valenciana being one of them, have established quality programmes or procedures for the implementation of quality management systems, which are voluntary for schools.

Evaluation of the teaching and management functions

The education administrations of the autonomous communities may, within the framework of their competences, draw up plans for the evaluation of the public teaching function, with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and the professional practice of the teaching staff. They may also draw up plans for the assessment of the managerial function.

The following characteristics must be present in the plans for the evaluation of the public teaching service:

• to be drawn up with the participation of teachers and be public;
• to include the aims and assessment criteria, as well as the way in which teachers, the educational community and the authorities participate in the evaluation process;
• to encourage the voluntary evaluation of teachers.

Local (educational institution) level

At local level, educational institutions themselves may design and carry out their own internal or external evaluations.