Towards a renewal of assessment cultures and practices in Jura schools

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe and question the processes that led the canton of Jura's Education Department and the University of Teacher Education of the cantons of Bern, Jura, and Neuchâtel (HEP-BEJUNE) to join forces in 2020 to initiate and drive forward a contemporary renewal of assessment cultures and practices in schools (primary and secondary), geared more towards a learning-support assessment paradigm. This movement took concrete form through a twofold approach: 1) the production of a text by the Education Department aimed at setting out the general framework for the evaluation of learning, and 2) the design of training sessions dedicated to assessment for teaching staff in collaboration with the training institution (HEP-BEJUNE). The purpose of this article is to present the circumstances, impulses and triggering factors that motivated a reform movement in the field of learning assessment. It then goes on to describe the approach adopted by the canton of Jura, and to discuss the obstacles/barriers and/or facilitating factors that hinder or clarify a process aimed at transforming assessment cultures and practices in schools. By way of conclusion, the aim is to suggest several ways in which the renewal of assessment cultures and practices can take root over the long term, with the commitment and support of teaching staff.