Rethinking assessment in Italian primary schools: moving beyond descriptive judgements post - 2025 reform


Abstract:

Five years later, primary school teachers found themselves in the midst of the 2024/2025 academic year applying Ministerial Ordinance No. 3 of January 9, 2025, which regulates the changes introduced by Law No. 150 of October 1, 2024. Specifically, the previous levels (beginning, basic, intermediate, and advanced) along with their associated descriptive judgments have been eliminated, replaced by six synthetic judgments (excellent, distinguished, good, fair, sufficient, and insufficient). In light of these innovations, educational institutions are required to update the assessment criteria to be integrated into the Three-Year Educational Offer Plan (PTOF) and to choose between two assessment sheets published in the regulations. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure timely and transparent communication with families to facilitate understanding of these changes. This article aims to analyze Ordinance No. 3/2025 and the accompanying ministerial note, seeking to address the numerous questions schools have regarding these new provisions in order to support the effective and coherent implementation of the new assessment practices.