Research Research UnitsCO-VALIS – Development and sustainability of teacher assessment skills in schools

CO-VALIS – Development and sustainability of teacher assessment skills in schools

Issues related to assessment have recently taken on new centrality. The regulatory changes of recent decades, which have seen the introduction of new basic and citizenship skills for the fulfillment of compulsory education, the administration of standardized national tests, the launch of the national assessment system with a specific focus on internal and external school assessment, and the spread of new methods of assessment and certification of skills, require systematic and continuous research efforts in terms of both theoretical models and assessment practices.

This research unit, drawing on national and international studies on the assessment of learning and educational institutions, aims to promote reflection on the professional skills of teachers and the sustainability of their development in the school context.

The objectives of the research unit are:

Investigate the main theoretical models on learning and school assessment, with particular reference to the authentic assessment approach and the effective schools movement;
Identify good practices in formative assessment focused on enhancing learning feedback and feedforward;
Develop tools for constructing authentic tests for the assessment and certification of skills;
Promote research and training programs with schools aimed at identifying teachers' conceptions of assessment and identifying good practices;
Develop theoretical and empirical models to strengthen the link between internal and external school assessment;
Develop models for monitoring the effectiveness of assessment in order to improve the quality of learning and the functioning of schools;
Develop guidelines on how to use school self-evaluation for the purpose of planning improvement measures;
Support the work of Internal Evaluation Units (NIV) in planning social reporting and accountability actions.