This assessment is known as the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) and each year all county and unitary authorities are given a rating from zero to four stars. CPA draws together the Council's performance under five elements, which cover all areas of service provision.
In December 2005 Worcestershire was rated in the top band possible for councils and the improvement shown by the County Council has been maintained under ever more stringent testing in 2006. This has resulted in the County Council once more achieving a rating of four stars.
CPA measures the quality of core services provided by the council, how it uses its resources, how it performs as a corporate body and the "direction of travel", which reflects the council's improvement profile.
Worcestershire's direction of travel is deemed to be Improving Well.
According to the Audit Commission, Worcestershire County Council "continues to make progress in its priority areas and there is an overall trend of improvement, with just under three-quarters of its Performance Indicators getting better since 2004/05".
Cllr George Lord, Leader of the Council, said: "I'm highly delighted with the results. It just shows how well a low-funded authority can perform and that's a credit to all staff and councillors.
"It's all about value for money and our assessment scores show that's exactly what we deliver. This doesn't mean we're perfect, however and we can still get better."
Jennie Bashforth, Acting Chief Executive, added: "That we have retained our four-star rating is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of staff throughout the authority."