Evaluating schools has become a contentious issue in many countries. There seems to be a broad and growing consensus that some form of evaluation can on the one hand play a significant role in school improvement efforts, and on the other is also required to provide a reasonable level of public accountability appropriate in democratic societies. What is less clear is how the balance between these goals can be best achieved. In the context of this wider international debate, the article describes the manner in which the approach to the evaluation of the work of schools is evolving in the Irish setting. In so doing, it is hoped to contribute to some key elements of the debate, particularly the interplay between external evaluation and internal self-evaluation and the relationship between evaluation and evidence. (Contains 2 tables.)