Formative assessment and teachers' practice: implications for educational research and professional development

Within the last few years of the 21st century, the renewed interest in formative assessment has been matched with curricular reforms as well as the development of cognitive psychology. Actual studies provide a multidimensional image of assessment: the attempts to define the components of formative assessment are matched with the enquiries for the individuation of the interconnection modalities between assessment and the teaching-learning process. To arrange an assessment design aimed to guide students towards an even more accurate activity of exploration of one’s own knowledge and abilities represents a difficult step. To obtain benefit form formative assessment new development should focus on conceptualising well-specified approaches built around process and methodology rooted within specific content domains. It is important to understand how formative assessment is intended and consequently implemented in a specific educative system. Starting from this assumption the present paper reports results of a survey aimed to investigate Italian primary teachers’ representations on formative assessment. Although the context of this paper is the Italian school system, we thought the paper highlights issues of formative assessment and forms of teacher training. It has relevance to international debate on teaching, learning, and formative assessment practices and artefacts