Reframing assessment as a relational process for agency and self-discovery
Assessment as Dialogue is a collaborative European initiative. The project gathered and analysed more than twenty innovative formative assessment practices across diverse educational contexts.
At its core lies a fundamental question: How can assessment nurture each learner’s unique potential through contextualised, participatory, and individualised approaches that strengthen agency and self-efficacy?
Rather than treating assessment as a technical mechanism for measurement, this initiative repositions it as a relational and developmental process.
Across many education systems, assessment remains heavily standardised, comparative, and outcome-driven. While intended to ensure accountability, these systems often disconnect learners from their own development.
When individual strengths are overlooked, pupils may disengage, internalise failure, or leave education prematurely. Assessment becomes a source of anxiety rather than insight.
In a world shaped by technological transformation, social fragmentation, and uncertainty, young people need more than grades. They need processes that help them:
Without this shift, education risks reinforcing compliance instead of cultivating agency.
Assessment as Dialogue promotes a whole child approach grounded in the Learning for Well-being Framework. Learning is understood as an integrated process involving mental, emotional, physical, and relational dimensions.
The project highlights assessment practices that are:
In this reframing, assessment is not something done to learners, but something constructed with them. It becomes a tool for reflection, self-awareness, and intrinsic motivation.
Through research, documentation, and knowledge-sharing, we aim to inspire educators, policymakers, and institutions to adopt formative, empowering assessment practices.
Our work contributes to broader educational transformation by:
The findings and resources are openly accessible on the project website, encouraging continued exploration and application.
