A “friendly” assessment for a “good” school

Abstract

Assessment is a major topic and strategic issue in the current phase of the Italian debate regarding school, especially in terms of its relation with learning and the quality of the school system. his attention is certainly signiicant but it requires proper relection, especially since “for the pupil, aggressive evaluation is not a igment of the imagination”. Starting from this consideration, this paper aims to highlight the need to arrive at “friendly” assessment as a condition and, at the same time, expression of a “good” school, i.e. a school that is mindful of its pupils’ success. he arguments start from the analysis of the function and characteristics attributed to evaluation/assessment in the Italian “Indicazioni nazionali per il curricolo della scuola d’infanzia e del primo ciclo d’istruzione” (“National guidelines for the curriculum: kindergarten and irst educational cycle”) and then address some of the elements that can “endanger” the its aim to “accompany learning processes and stimulate continuous improvement”. Finally, it proposes a renewed school evaluation/assessment which envisages the “shared responsibility” of those involved (teachers, parents, pupils).