Jaakko Kauko is Associate Professor of Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research focuses on the fields of education policy and comparative education.Risto Rinne is Professor of Education, Vice-Dean and Head of the Department of Education and Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku, Finland. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and has published more than 500 scientific works.Tuomas Takala is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research has focused on the formation and implementation of education policies in developing countries.

• Foreword - António NóvoaAcknowledgements 1 Comparing politics of quality in education2 Layers of reflectivity in comparative research 3 Historical paths to shared interest in quality assurance and evaluation4 Established and emerging actors in the national political arenas5 Changing expertise and the state6 Governance by data circulation? The production, availability, and use of national large-scale assessment data7 Effects of quality assurance and evaluation on schools’ room for action8 Alternative views of the future of quality assurance and evaluation9 Conclusion

"Quality is too often understood in the abstract. This book traces the political formation of quality in time and space - from trans-national organizations to decision makers at national and local levels in the educational systems of China, Russia, and Brazil. Due to its unique empirical coverage and its daring theoretical aspiration, this is a truly amazing book."Peter Dahler-Larsen, Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, and past president of European Evaluation Society.

Jaakko Kauko is Associate Professor of Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research focuses on the fields of education policy and comparative education.Risto Rinne is Professor of Education, Vice-Dean and Head of the Department of Education and Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku, Finland. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and has published more than 500 scientific works.Tuomas Takala is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research has focused on the formation and implementation of education policies in developing countries.

• Foreword - António NóvoaAcknowledgements 1 Comparing politics of quality in education2 Layers of reflectivity in comparative research 3 Historical paths to shared interest in quality assurance and evaluation4 Established and emerging actors in the national political arenas5 Changing expertise and the state6 Governance by data circulation? The production, availability, and use of national large-scale assessment data7 Effects of quality assurance and evaluation on schools’ room for action8 Alternative views of the future of quality assurance and evaluation9 Conclusion

"Quality is too often understood in the abstract. This book traces the political formation of quality in time and space - from trans-national organizations to decision makers at national and local levels in the educational systems of China, Russia, and Brazil. Due to its unique empirical coverage and its daring theoretical aspiration, this is a truly amazing book."Peter Dahler-Larsen, Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, and past president of European Evaluation Society.

Jaakko Kauko is Associate Professor of Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research focuses on the fields of education policy and comparative education.Risto Rinne is Professor of Education, Vice-Dean and Head of the Department of Education and Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku, Finland. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and has published more than 500 scientific works.Tuomas Takala is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research has focused on the formation and implementation of education policies in developing countries.

• Foreword - António NóvoaAcknowledgements 1 Comparing politics of quality in education2 Layers of reflectivity in comparative research 3 Historical paths to shared interest in quality assurance and evaluation4 Established and emerging actors in the national political arenas5 Changing expertise and the state6 Governance by data circulation? The production, availability, and use of national large-scale assessment data7 Effects of quality assurance and evaluation on schools’ room for action8 Alternative views of the future of quality assurance and evaluation9 Conclusion

"Quality is too often understood in the abstract. This book traces the political formation of quality in time and space - from trans-national organizations to decision makers at national and local levels in the educational systems of China, Russia, and Brazil. Due to its unique empirical coverage and its daring theoretical aspiration, this is a truly amazing book."Peter Dahler-Larsen, Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, and past president of European Evaluation Society.