Conference Program

In recent decades, teacher professional development (TPD) has increasingly been framed in terms of measurable impact on teaching practices and student outcomes. While such approaches aim to strengthen accountability and evidence-based policy, they often rely on simplified causal models that overlook the complex and reflective nature of professional learning. Within this debate, formative assessment can be interpreted not only as a pedagogical strategy for supporting student learning, but also as a key dimension of teachers’ professional development.

This paper explores formative assessment as a potential lever for teacher professional learning through the analysis of a large-scale professional self-assessment device used in the Italian teacher induction programme. The study examines the Bilancio delle competenze, a national framework for teacher self-assessment developed by INDIRE and completed by more than 95,000 newly appointed teachers during their probationary year in 2024/25 and 2025/26. The instrument is structured around three professional domains (Teaching, Institution and Community, and Professional Development), eight standards and thirty-six competence indicators designed to support reflective practice and professional growth.

The analysis focuses in particular on the Teaching domain, investigating teachers’ self-perceived competence in relation to formative assessment practices. Results show that teachers report relatively strong confidence in communicating learning objectives and assessment criteria to students. However, significant challenges emerge in the operational use of formative assessment as a tool for monitoring learning processes and regulating teaching practices in progress. Approximately half of the respondents position themselves as still “in training” in the implementation of formative assessment strategies during instruction.

These findings reveal a persistent gap between instructional design and the use of assessment as an ongoing regulatory process within teaching. While teachers perceive themselves as competent in planning and supporting students’ learning processes, the integration of formative assessment into everyday instructional decision-making remains less consolidated.

The paper argues that professional competence frameworks and self-assessment tools such as the Bilancio delle competenze should not be interpreted merely as monitoring instruments, but as reflective devices capable of fostering teacher agency and supporting professional learning. From this perspective, the study contributes to ongoing discussions on how the impact of TPD should be conceptualised and evaluated, suggesting that greater attention should be paid to reflective processes and to the role of professional standards in shaping teachers’ understanding of assessment as part of their professional practice.