Citizenship competences are inherently complex, encompassing a range of knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours (Council of Europe, 2024; Cedefop 2024). Assessing such competences requires diverse methods that go beyond traditional evaluation tools. The impetus to broaden the scope of assessed competences including citizenship competences stems from the powerful influence that assessment exerts on what teachers teach and students learn (Siarova et al., 2017). In essence, there are two primary reasons why assessment should be organised: for formative and summative purposes. Formative assessment seeks to support the ongoing learning process by providing continuous feedback to learners. However, unlike job-specific skills that are directly linked to occupational performance, citizenship competences may not be immediately perceived as critical to vocational success. In the absence of a clear connection to credentials or qualifications, learners may struggle to recognise the relevance of these competences to their future careers. Similarly, educators may find it difficult to allocate sufficient time to integrate citizenship competences into their teaching practice. Therefore the question of whether formative assessment alone is sufficient for development of citizenship competences is central to this discussion. On the other hand summative assessment, with its formalised structure and association with credentials, has the potential to elevate the status of citizenship competences, ensuring they are seen as integral to vocational training rather than optional extras. However, assessing citizenship competences, much like other non-cognitive competences, presents significant methodological challenges when approached through summative assessment (Kyllonen, 2016). Unlike cognitive competences, citizenship competences encompass a complex interplay of attitudes, values, behaviours, and skills that are difficult to quantify and standardise. This inherent complexity raises questions about the validity, reliability, and practicality of summative assessment methods in capturing the nuanced and multifaceted nature of these competences. In this article, drawing on an analysis of policies and practices from a range of different European countries such as Scotland, Poland and Norway, we seek to address the following research questions: 1. What assessment methods and practices are employed across VET systems to assess transversal competences which might be used (are already used) to assess citizenship competences? 2. What formative and summative assessment approaches are (or maybe) utilised, and what evidence exists regarding their effectiveness or limitations? As a main research methods we aim to imply desk research and semi-structured interviews with vocational and policy experts in the analysed countries and perform a detailed analysis of exam papers for a sample of professions.

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