The emphasis of this type of monitoring is on school results. Its goal is mainly to stimulate competition between schools in order to promote academic achievement. The most common monitoring devices used are the regular measurement of learner achievement by standardized tests and examinations, combined with the publication of league tables and systematic (external) auditing of schools.
IIEP training materials
A second interpretation of the concept of public accountability considers that all potential parents of a school are its public and that they all have the right to be informed about the performances, the characteristics and the quality of all schools, so as to be able to choose the school most fitting for their kids. The scenario here is the one of a marketplace for schooling, which, to function well, needs to provide the public with relevant information. As such, several countries have started publishing examination results by schools while some have done so for school supervision reports (De Grauwe, A. 2008: 11).
De Grauwe, A. 2008. School monitoring systems and their impact on disparities. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO.