A quantitative effectiveness measurement based on the perceptions of the local community has been established as an effective mode of evaluating the level of satisfaction or perceived effectiveness of a school. In order to measure the level of effectiveness as perceived by their communities, educational institutions could use this instrument to measure the Quality Effectiveness Index (QEI) on eight quality management dimensions. This study seeks to investigate such a measurement in relation to a Liverpool college's perceptions of school effectiveness through the Quality Situation Assessment Instrument (QSAI).
The instruments used in this research were based on the tenets of Malcolm Baldrige. The QSAI is a modified version that has applied an additional dimension, namely that of Student Outcomes to the original Baldrige award criteria. This QSAI will assess the perceptions of current and ideal school improvement issues in the selected sample of this case study school. The responses will be analysed via the Quality Effectiveness Index (QEI), which measures the perceptions of respondents.
The findings indicate that it is an effective self‐evaluation tool as the report to the school complements the views expressed by the college's OFSTED report.
Apart from the fact that this has been the first such study of its type in the UK, the major significance has been the incorporation of the qualitative contemporary management underpinnings.
