Within the perspective of school development and accountability, schools are expected to support their quality policy with data (Nevo, 2002). One of the ways in which this can be achieved is by using feedback generated by school feedback systems. These external systems deliver confidential information about a school’s performance and functioning (Visscher & Coe, 2002, 2003).

However, receiving feedback alone is not a sufficient condition to foster self-evaluation and systematic reflection at school level. While most teachers and school principals have experience with school test data, pupil monitoring systems, and self-evaluations, in several studies school staff report that they are lacking skills and confidence to use data for school policy purposes (Earl & Fullan, 2003; Kerr, Marsh, Ikemoio, Darilek, & Barney, 2006; Saunders, 2000; Verhaeghe, Vanhoof, Valcke, & Van Petegem, in press; Williams & Coles, 2007). Furthermore, numerous studies stress the importance of providing feedback support (e.g., Schildkamp & Teddlie, 2008; Schildkamp, Visscher, & Luyten, 2009; Van Petegem & Vanhoof, 2007; Visscher & Coe, 2003).Therefore this study focuses on the impact of supporting feedback use.

An experimental study was set up involving 195 Flemish primary school principals who had received value-added feedback reports on the performance of their schools in 2008. They were randomly divided into three conditions, which varied in terms of the extent to which support was offered for the interpretation and use of the feedback­ data. These conditions were set up according to Gardner’s (1995) classification of training initiatives on a continuum from in-service (not organized at the school; experimental condition 1) to on-service (which was organized at the school; experimental condition 2). In addition, a control condition was established which received no additional support.

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