The problem of ensuring quality in mass education systems is as old as the systems themselves. Responses to this problem reflect the political and cultural organisation of different nation states. In the USA the problem has to be dealt with at a local level. The federal government is very restricted in powers in the field of education and social policy. These are matters reserved in the first instance to the individual states, and they are then devolved to even more local levels (counties, municipalities and school districts. Although in Germany the role of control and regulation is devolved to a regional level, the land, central government reserves to itself significant power over education. In the United Kingdom, although there is some administrative devolution to local authorities, and in recent years to schools themselves, the central state (i.e. the national government) has reserved the right to regulate and control most aspects of education.