How Do Italian Teacher Trainees Conceive Assessment?

Nowadays, educational research points how teaching-learning quality is interwoven with teachers’ conceptions of teaching, learning, curriculum, and assessment. Given this assumption, the present papers reports a study aimed to analyse teacher trainees’ conceptions of assessment. On the backdrop of review of main international studies on teachers’ assessment conceptions, this paper focuses on the Italian teacher trainees’ conceptions of assessment. Data from 409 teacher trainees on Conceptions Of Assessment (COA) inventory were analysed in a MANOVA design. Differences and similarities between the current results and the COA model are highlighted: even though the Italian teacher trainees generally agreed with the assessment as a lever to improve teaching and learning, it is evident that they conceive assessment as misaligned from the accountability system. The implications of results for assessment education and training are also discussed.