Historically the concept of quality has been used for a long time in different contexts, including, to some extent, that of education. Since the emphasis on quality that is made explicit in the Swedish government’s development plan (Skr 1996/97:112) in the year of 1997, the concept of quality has spread quickly within and between different arenas in the Swedish educational system. In one way, it is hardly surprising that, within education, a concept such as quality has spread so rapidly. There are few who would contest the importance of educational quality. The focus in this paper is directed towards the question of why the concept of quality has become such a central part in educational policy and what, or which, qualities the Swedish government strive for between the years of 1990-2010.