Italian teachers’ conceptions of large-scale assessment: what are the implications for assessment literacy?

ABSTRACT Over recent decades, a great amount of attention has been globally directed to school achievement evidenced by large-scale assessment programmes. Additionally, there has been an increase in expectations regarding teachers’ use of data. Against this backdrop, there arose a clear demand for assessment-literate teachers, mapping out the changes that teachers need in practice in order to ensure sound instructional decision-making and enable better learning for students. Despite the current educational policy and trends in research, teachers in Italy tend to avoid using large-scale assessment results and continue to perceive this assessment as inappropriate and ineffective. To shed light on the reasons for teachers’ negative conceptions of the national large-scale assessment programme, a qualitative study was conducted drawing data from semi-structured interviews with 70 teachers. The discussion on limitations of and issues encountered in large-scale assessments addresses policy implications for teachers’ assessment literacy, as well as for their professional development.