This review was originally intended: (1) to constitute one of the background documents for the workshop on "Issues and Practices in Planning the Quality of Education"; and (2) to be used in a modified and more elaborate form as an orientation and training document for IIEP courses and seminars organized on the subject. The review consists of four different parts. Part I, entitled "Conceptual Distinctions in the Discourse on the Quality of Education," is devoted to definitions of the notion of quality of education and some related concepts; it also studies at some length three particularly important issues: (1) expansion and educational standards; (2) the relevance issue and the evolution of curricula; and (3) quality and equity. The second part, "Quality of Education in Some Development Plans," analyzes how the treatment of quality issues has evolved over the years in a few selected developing countries. The core of the document, contained in part III entitled "What Does Research Have To Say?" reviews research studies, undertaken in developing countries, that focus specifically on: (1) the methodology or approaches used; and (2) the findings reported. Finally, part IV examines the utility and practicability of various information tools for quality improvement and concludes with a discussion on decentralized mechanisms for monitoring the quality of education. (111 references) (Author)