European Educational Systems and Assessment Practice

This chapter surveys the status of educational systems and assessment practices across eight European countries that are part of the ASSIST-ME project. First, variations in the country's educational systems are examined to identify possible connections between systems and educational practices. Such associations are useful both for understanding different existing assessment conditions as well as for providing possible pathways for change. Next, the chapter takes a closer look at teacher practices in these educational systems in order to identify the actual assessment practices of teachers in each country. With these understandings of the systems and current uses of assessment, it is possible to identify affordances and challenges for improving assessment practices. [For the complete volume, "Transforming Assessment: Through an Interplay between Practice, Research and Policy. Contributions from Science Education Research. Volume 4," see ED611936.]