Educational policy innovations entail teachers changing, in culture and practice, their knowledge and skills to ensure sound decision-making (Alonzo et al., 2021) and equitable and responsive learning for all students (Cochran-Smith et al., 2021). Over the years, the shifts in policy and practice (e.g., standards-based reforms, teacher education revisions) have brought an increasingly greater focus on teacher assessment literacy, conceived as a set of knowledge and skills a teacher needs to effectively enact assessment in the classroom (DeLuca et al., 2020). Among the focal points of efforts to improve educational quality, the relationships between teacher assessment literacy, high-quality professional development, and the improvement of classroom practice (which should lead to increased student learning) have been frequently referenced (Boström & Palm, 2023). More specifically, considerable efforts, both in the educational assessment and teacher education communities, have been made in support of formative assessment, defined as a practice where gathered information about student learning is used, by teachers and students, to adapt teaching and foster student learning. However, in Italy, compared to other national school systems, this type of assessment has been largely overlooked as a research topic and is an underdeveloped and undervalued educational practice. Even with the recent reform in primary school, which made formative assessment mandatory, it appears that the longstanding gap between educational research and policy has not been fully addressed, thus limiting the potential for transforming teacher assessment practices.

In 2020, the Ministry of Education introduced formative assessment as compulsory practice for primary school teachers (grades 1st-5th). The last reform of assessment practices requires active engagement and awareness of what formative assessment is by teachers. Here, it is important to discover if the new policy has had an identifiable impact on teacher conceptions about, attitudes toward, and practices of assessment. At the same time, understanding what schools of education are doing to prepare future teachers to enact formative assessment is also crucial at educational policy and practice levels. From this perspective, the analysis of assessment courses in the national ITE programmes is relevant to questioning the alignment of university-based assessment education with educational policy requirements and with the complexity of teaching practice and contexts.

Consequently, a content analysis of educational assessment course syllabi has been performed to understand if, and to what extent, the new formative assessment demands have been acknowledged by the national ITE programme. Investigations on ITE programmes and content knowledge and pedagogies for formative assessment are essential to understand how effectively to prepare prospective teachers in developing their assessment literacy and dealing with assessment practice.

The study was guided by the following research question:

• Within the educational assessment course syllabi provided by the Italian ITE programme for primary school, is the topic of formative assessment reported?

Using nationwide data from 74 syllabi of educational assessment courses, a content analysis (Tavakoli & Gamlem, 2024; Yang, 2022), has been performed to detect if, and to what extent, ITE programmes have been revised to reflect the new formative assessment demands.

The content analysis attempted to determine whether assessment education course syllabi mentioned aspects such as the basic knowledge of formative assessment terminology, the purposes of formative assessment, its main strategies, and instruments. Additionally, this question has been useful in identifying whether the notion and practice of formative assessment were recognized as important for developing prospective teachers' assessment literacy.

All national educational assessment course syllabi have been examined using the manifest content analysis approach (Elo & Kyngäs, 2007; Krippendorff, 2004). A qualitative and quantitative description of explicit content about formative assessment, as reported in public documents (i.e., course syllabi), has been performed. Therefore, to organize and describe content into categories, deductive and summative content analysis procedures were used. Finally, the categories included in the educational assessment course syllabi have been counted and compared across the three academic years considered in this study. In order to examine if, and to what extent, ITE programmes were aligned with educational policy innovations related to formative assessment in primary school, the educational assessment course syllabi of three different academic years (2019-20; 2020-21; 2021-22) have been considered. Within each ITE programme, stand-alone and embedded courses/modules addressing educational assessment in their titles were selected. A first evaluation of the 82 collected syllabi was performed to determine the extent to which they reflect the topic of educational or classroom assessment. As a result, 74 syllabi were considered eligible for the analysis. Each syllabus was processed considering these components: course title, course objectives/learning outcomes, contents (topics covered in the course), and pedagogies (teaching-learning activities), readings, and types of assignments (Tab. 1). Using the formative assessment definition provided by Black and Wiliam (1998) a content analysis protocol was developed with a focus on the following questions, directly related to the study research question: 1. Is formative assessment listed/reported as a course content knowledge? 2. Are the main formative assessment strategies and instruments mentioned as course content knowledge? 3. If formative assessment is reported as a course content, are its main characteristics and functions gleaned from research (e.g., how to practice formative feedback; how to use self- and peer-assessment)? In other words, what kind of readings related to formative assessment are reported in the syllabus? 4. In the assessment and assignments sections, are there references to the new reform in the school assessment domain? 5. Are formative assessment strategies and instruments mentioned to be used by prospective teachers to experience this assessment practice? The analysis of the educational assessment course syllabi collected in this study reveals a weak presence of formative assessment in the ITE programmes. Across the three academic years considered, a limited assessment education emerges for prospective teachers. Furthermore, the variability of terms and expressions reported in these syllabi titles outlines a fragmented scenario.

This study is the first systematic attempt to shed light on assessment education within the Italian ITE context. The results demonstrate that formative assessment, although enforced by law, is not recognized as a fundamental component of teacher assessment practice, and it is not conceived within the broad concept of teacher assessment literacy. The analysis of collected course/module syllabi shows how formative assessment is not reported across the program structures, contents, and pedagogies. This study reinforces current literature on the role of ITE in developing teacher assessment literacy. Indeed, the study confirms the need for strategic alignment between educational policy, educational practice, and educational research. ITE programs are relevant for the development of assessment literate teachers. These education paths are proposed to prepare teachers to learn, in theory and practice, how to enact assessment in the classroom. Shaping teachers’ assessment conceptions, values, and knowledge, ITE programs represent a highly influential factor of assessment literacy. The present findings evidently contrast with the complexity of current teacher assessment literacy models and conceptualizations. Introducing radical changes by policy, such as those initiated by the Ministry of Education in Italy, risks making innovation and school improvement very challenging if teachers are not prepared to learn (formative) assessment principles and translate this learning into practice. This study suggests that better aligning macro- and micro-level policy approaches in the Italian school context is needed. Promoting real changes in teaching and assessment throughout the entire education system calls for a greater range of strategies on the importance of formative assessment.

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