Introduction. Continuous improvement organizes institutional evaluation through cycles of planning, implementation, verification, and adjustment linked to the institutional educational project, procedures, and administrative records. Objective. To establish a theoretical basis for contemporary continuous-improvement models applicable to educational administrative management; diagnose the status of the institutional educational project, academic-administrative procedures, and institutional records; and design strategies aligned with standards of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture of Ecuador D1.C1.GE2 of the Administrative Management dimension (institutional organization, IEP), D1.C1.GE3 (academic and administrative procedures), and D1.C3.GE7 (administrative records. Methodology. A mixed-method, non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive-diagnostic study was conducted and complemented by a rapid systematized review of 2023-2026 literature. An 18-item survey was conducted with 31 participants, and 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The instruments were validated by three experts in educational management. Results. The review identified Improvement Science, the PDCA cycle, Total Quality Management and the Juran Trilogy, school self-evaluation, quality assurance, educational auditing, and digital records management as key references. Dimension means were 3.69 for planning, 3.78 for implementation, 3.63 for monitoring, 3.55 for the institutional educational project, 4.14 for procedures, and 3.97 for records; the institutional educational project had the lowest favorable response rate (48.3%) and procedures the highest (74.7%). Conclusion. Continuous improvement constitutes a relevant strategy for strengthening institutional administrative management. The diagnosis supported a PDCA-based proposal aimed at strengthening appropriation of the institutional educational project, standardizing procedures, and improving records traceability through periodic monitoring and indicators. General area of study: Education. Specific area of study: Educational management and quality. Type of study: Original article.