Statements, declared practices and beliefs about INVALSI assessment at primary school level: an exploratory study

Abstract

In this paper we retrace the main stages of an interdisciplinary research project with the aim of highlighting the views of mathematics teachers on large-scale standardized tests. The researchers analyse the responses of over 500 Italian primary school teachers to a questionnaire prepared for this purpose using correlational and principal component analysis (PCA). The comparison between the questions relating to the statements and those relating to classroom practices allowed us to let the attitudes and beliefs emerge. Teachers’ recognition of the validity of the INVALSI data in building classrooms practices clashes with the belief that large scale standardized assessments are used by Institutions for the evaluation of the single teacher.