SUMMARY
With the view to raising the effectiveness of Estonian educational system, new course concerning schools’ and pupils’ individual development must be taken. It can be achieved through performance management, which also generates the need to appraise schools’ and teachers’ performance. The purpose of this article is to bring out the opportunities for appraising schools’ and teachers’ performance in Estonian general education schools in a perspective of organizational culture and educational policy. On the assumption of teachers’ main activities the authors grouped evaluation criteria into activities connected to school management and activities connected to educational process. Teachers’ appraisal criteria a brought out in three main themes: teachers’ personal characteristics, learning process and learning environment and school management and development. The authors also debate over the Estonian educational policy.