The Italian National Evaluation System: a quasi-project. Critical reflections and open questions

Abstract

The issue of the evaluation of students, teachers, school managers, schools themselves
and entire education systems has begun to attract particular attention among
governments and policy-makers, both internationally and, increasingly, at national levels.
School evaluation is used as a tool to improve understanding of how students progress in
their learning, to provide information to parents and indeed society at large about
performance, and to improve schools in terms of their leadership and teaching practices.
In Italy, a National Evaluation System (SNV) was introduced in the 2014-2015 school
year. The realities of the political landscape and the contradictions, uncertainties and
complexities of the school sector have substantially conditioned the SNV’s
implementation and continue to exert a major influence on it. This paper focuses on
some of the many points worthy of attention and on the numerous open questions, with
particular reference to their implications for pedagogical and educational research.