Pupil assessment

As a general principle, the 'Charter of students' (Statuto delle studentesse e degli studenti) in secondary schools sets out the right of students to ‘transparent and rapid evaluation aimed at starting a process of self-evaluation to identify his/her own strengths and weaknesses and improve his/her own performance’.

Internal assessment of pupils is both formative and summative and focuses on pupils’ learning processes as well as on their learning outcomes, competences acquired, and behaviour. It should be consistent with the learning objectives established in the ‘three-year educational offer plan’ (Piano triennale dell’offerta formativa – PTOF) of each school, with the National guidelines for the curriculum (Indicazioni nazionali per il curricolo) and, in case of pupils with special educational needs, with their personalised/individualised educational plan. In the PTOF, the teachers' assembly of each school also defines the methods and criteria for assuring that pupil assessment is equal, transparent, and fair. 

The assessment of students’ conduct refers to the development of citizenship competences, according to what established by the ‘Charter of students’, by the ‘Joint responsibility agreement’ signed by pupils and parents at enrolment, and by each school regulations.

Class teachers are responsible for daily, periodic and final assessment of pupils as well as for verifying the students’ competences at the end of the first cycle of education.

Daily assessment is done by class teachers through interviews, written tests, or any other assessment process like work in class, homework assignments.

Periodic assessment takes place at the end of each term. In fact, for assessment purposes, the school year is organised into terms that usually last from three to five months, according to school regulations. 

Final assessment takes place at the end of each school year and at the end of the third and last year with the first-cycle State leaving examination. 

Special dispositions apply for the assessment of hospitalised pupils or of pupils attending home education. For details, please refer to the section on organisational variations and alternative structures. The measures for the assessment of pupils with special educational needs, are detailed in the section on special education needs provision within mainstream education [https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/italy/special-education-needs-provision-within-mainstream-education].

Assessment of students at lower secondary education is regulated by D.Lgs 62/2017 as modified by legge 150/2024, by Ordinanza n. 3/2025 and by the 'Charter of Students' (Statuto delle studentesse e degli studenti)

Periodic/annual assessment

At the end of every term and of every school year, the class council, which is made up of all the teachers of a given class, assigns marks to each student for each subject and behaviour. Each subject teacher proposes the mark for a given pupil, for the relevant subject, to the class council that approves the final mark by majority vote. If no majority is reached, the vote of the school manager prevails (the whole procedure is known as scrutinio). The class council is made up of all the teachers for a given class: subject teachers, support teachers, teachers of Catholic religion or of the alternative activities depending on each pupil’s choice, all other teachers who have carried out activities in the class (e.g. the teacher for the musical instrument for pupils attending the music branch). 

Marks range from 0 to 10 and correspond to ten learning levels. A mark equal or higher than 6/10 means a sufficient attainment of the learning targets expected for the relevant level of education. A mark lower than 6/10 means that the attainment of learning targets is partially or totally lacking. A mark lower than 6/10 in one or more subjects does not affect pupil’s progression to the next grade or the admission to the final State exam. The decision not to admit the student to the following year must be taken by majority vote and justified. A description of each pupil’s learning processes and of the overall learning levels reached, supplements the numerical assessment. Teachers of Catholic religious education/alternative activities evaluate pupils through synthetic reports describing the interest shown in the subject and the results achieved. 

Teachers assess students’ behaviour assigning marks out of ten. An assessment of less than 6/10, given serious and repeated offences, results in non-admission to the next grade or to the final exam. 

Schools establish in their own regulations which behaviours constitute a disciplinary offence, in compliance with the basic principle that disciplinary measures must be temporary and inspired by the principle of repairing the damage. The school council can order the expulsion from the lessons only in case of serious and repeated disciplinary offences and for periods not exceeding 15 days. If the expulsion is less than three days, the student will carry out in depth activities on his/her conduct and its consequences, while for longer periods of expulsion, the student will carry out activities of active citizenship. The school Council can order the expulsion from the school for periods of more than 15 days in case of particularly serious offences, including behaviours that violate the dignity or respect of other persons or endanger their lives. In this case, the school will promote an educational recovery programme aimed at inclusion, empowerment and, where possible, reintegration into the school community. Schools collaborate with students’ families and can involve social services and legal authorities. For serious crimes, or recidivism, the school can order the expulsion up to the end of the school year or, for the most serious cases, with the exclusion from final evaluation procedures including the final State exam. It is possible to appeal against disciplinary measures to an internal body, which activity is governed by the school regulations and that is usually made up of representatives of the school, included parents and, only in upper secondary schools, students.

Teachers also evaluate the competences acquired by pupils by the end of the whole first cycle of education considering the competences each pupil is expected to hold at the end of the first cycle of education, the eight key competences for lifelong learning defined at European level (2006/962/EC), and the competences developed by pupils through their non-formal and informal learning experiences.

Competences are evaluated through a four-level scale, each level described with explanatory indicators (DM 742/2017, Annex B):
A – Advanced: the pupil performs tasks and solves complex problems, showing mastery in the use of knowledge and skills; proposes and supports their own opinions and makes responsible informed decisions.
B – Intermediate: the pupil performs tasks and is able to solve problems in new situations, makes informed choices and knows how to use her/his knowledge and skills.
C – Basic: The pupil performs simple tasks also in new situations, showing she/he has fundamental knowledge and skills and to know how to apply basic rules and procedures.
D – Initial: if properly guided, the pupil performs simple tasks in known situations.

Teachers draw up a specific certificate on the evaluation of competences that is delivered together with the final certification. 

Finally, the National Institute for the Evaluation of the Education System (Istituto nazionale per la valutazione del sistema di istruzione e formazione - INVALSI) carries out the external assessment of pupils. National standardised testing (‘prove INVALSI’) takes place during the third grade, within the month of April. It aims at verifying pupils' learning attainments in Italian, mathematics, and English.

The participation in the surveys is one of the mandatory requirements for the admission to the final examination. Pupils unable to sit for external assessment tests for serious and motivated reasons, can take the tests in a supplementary session. All students participate in standardised testing, included those attending home education. For students with disabilities and for students with specific learning disorders, the Class council can foresee specific compensation tools and dispensation measures.

The first-cycle State leaving examination

The first-cycle State leaving examination takes place at the end of the third year of lower secondary school. The examination aims at verifying knowledge, skills and competences acquired by pupils at the end of the first cycle of education, according to the objectives established by the National guidelines for the curriculum.

The final examination is regulated by D.Lgs 62/2017, as modified by law 150/2024 and by DM 741/2017 that defines the organisation of the exam.

Admission of candidates

Pupils access the final exam if they:

• attended at least 75% of the annual teaching time,
• have a mark for their behaviour equal or higher than 6/10 and have not incurred in disciplinary measures due to particularly serious events implying non admission to the next grade or to the final exam
• participated in the external national standardised testing in Italian, Mathematics and English.

Pupils access the final examination even if they have marks lower than 6/10 in one or more subjects. The Class council (i.e. all the teachers of a given class) may not admit a pupil with marks lower than 6/10 to the final exam with an adequately justified decision taken by majority vote. 

During the final assessment procedure, the Class council admits students to the final exam assigning them an admission mark in tenths considering the pupil’s overall learning process for the three-year period of lower secondary education. The admission mark, which can also be lower than 6/10, counts in the average of the final examination mark. 

The examination board and the organisation of the exam

An examination board is set up in every school. All teachers of all classes make up the board and the school manager chairs it. The examination board is divided into sub-commissions, each corresponding to a class, which administer the examinations and carry out the assessment.

The examination consists of three written tests and an interview. Written tests are held in three, not necessarily consecutive, different days according to the calendar set by each school.

The examination board draws up the three written tests, in coherence with the competence development targets established in the National guidelines for the curriculum. It also establishes the duration of each test, which must not exceed four hours, as well as the assessment criteria common to all sub-commissions.

The exam takes place between the end of the school year and the 30th of June.

Contents of the exam

The first written test aims at verifying pupils’ mastery of the Italian language and its correct use, as well as pupils’ personal expression skills and the ability to communicate their thoughts.

Students choose among three topics for each of the following three types of written text, prepared by the examination board:

1. writing a narrative or a descriptive text according to specific indications given (e.g. scope and topic),
2. writing a text providing individual opinions on issues suggested,
3. comprehension and synthesis of a literary, popular, or scientific work.

The second written test aims at verifying students’ logical-mathematical skills related to numbers, spaces and figures, functions, data. 

The examination board prepares at least three topics each referring to the following types of tests:

1. Problems with one or more questions,
2. Open-ended questions

The third written test aims at verifying students’ written comprehension and production competences in English and in the second foreign language, with reference to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: level A2 and level A1, respectively. The two foreign languages are assessed in two different sections. 

For each section students choose among three topics, prepared by the examination board and referring to one or a mix of different types of tests: 

1. close/open answer questionnaire on a given text,
2. completion or reworking of a text, 
3. drawing up of a dialogue on a given plan,
4. writing of a letter on a given general outline,
5. summarising a text. 

For students who have chosen to use the two hours of the second language for strengthening the English language or Italian (for foreign students only), the examination covers only the language studied.

The interview usually takes place after the three written tests. The interview covers all the subjects studied in the third grade, focusing on reasoning abilities, problem solving, critical thinking, competences related to civic education and foreign languages. Students attending the musical branch sit also for a practical test of the instrument studied.

Examination results

The commission assigns students a mark on a scale from 0 to 10 for each written test and for the interview.

Firstly, each sub-commission calculates, for each student, the average of marks obtained at written and oral tests. Then, it calculates the final mark by making the average of the admission mark with the average of marks obtained at tests. To pass the exam students must obtain a mark of 6/10 or higher. The commission can award a distinction (lode) by unanimous decision to students with a final mark of 10/10.

The school publishes the results on the bulletin board. For those who have not passed the exam, only the words ‘not passed’ are showed, without mention of the mark obtained.

Pupils who pass the final State examination, receive the first-cycle leaving certificate (Diploma di licenza conclusivo del primo ciclo di istruzione) and access to the second cycle of education.

Progression of pupils

For the school year to be valid and to progress to the next year, pupils in lower secondary education must attend at least 75% of the annual teaching time. In exceptional cases, schools can autonomously provide for justified derogations. However, if the number of absences jeopardises the possibility of a regular assessment, pupils are not admitted to the next grade or to the final exam. Schools define the annual teaching time to be used to calculate the 75% attendance required to validate the school year and the circumstances for derogations. 

In general, pupils progress to the next grade and are admitted to the final exam even if they have not fully or totally reached the learning attainment targets in one or more subjects, i.e. in case they have marks lower than 6/10. At periodic or final assessment, the school warns families of pupils with low marks and autonomously organises specific measures and actions to help pupils improve their learning results.

The Class council (i.e. all the teachers of a given class) can refuse admission to the next grade or to the final exam to pupils who have not partially or totally met the learning attainment targets (less than 6/10). In such cases, the decision must be taken by majority vote and must be adequately justified. 

Pupils with a mark lower than 6/10 in their behaviour or who have been excluded from the periodic/final assessment for disciplinary reasons, are not admitted to the next grade or to the final exam. 

(Source: D.lgs. 62/2017 as modified by legge 150/2024)

Pupils who pass the final examination and obtain their Diploma access to the second cycle of education.

Certification

Schools autonomously establish how to inform pupils and their families on their learning results. Generally, pupils and families receive an individual assessment paper at the end of each term and school year with the marks obtained for each subject in the periodic and final assessments. Catholic religion/alternative activities is assessed with a synthetic judgement reported separately. Schools deliver the assessment paper in electronic format and usually parents discuss the results with teachers.

At the end of the school year, the personal assessment paper also certifies the pupil’s admission or non-admission to the following grade or, at the end of the third grade, to the final exam.

Pupils who pass the final exam receive the Diploma certifying completion of the first-cycle of education (Diploma di licenza conclusivo del primo ciclo di istruzione).

The Diploma shows the student’s personal data and the final mark obtained at the State examination, the length of studies, as well as the foreign language/s and the musical instrument tested at the examination, for those attending the musical path. Each Diploma is given a progressive number shown alongside the year of printing. Diplomas are printed by the State printing office (Istituto poligrafico dello Stato) and delivered to schools through the Regional school offices (Uffici scolastici regionali - USR) (DM 22/2009).

Pupils who pass the final State examination receive also a certificate attesting the competences acquired at the end of the first cycle of education. The certification of competences refers to the 'Student's profile’, which is included in the National guidelines for the curriculum and describes the competences each pupil is expected to hold at the end of the first cycle of education. The certification also refers to the eight key competences for lifelong learning defined at European level (2006/962/EC) and takes into account any significant competences, also developed in non-formal and informal learning. Competences are evaluated through a four-level scale, each level defined by means of descriptive statements (D.Lgs. 62/2017). Class teachers draw up the certificate at the final assessment at the end of lower secondary education and include the certification in the student's e-portfolio, which is at disposal of families and of the education or training institution of the following cycle of education. Students with certified disabilities may receive, if necessary, an explanatory note linking the description of the competences to the specific learning objectives of pupil's individualised educative plan. The Ministry of education and merit has provided the model of certificate valid nationwide (DM 14/2024, Annex B). The certification is integrated with the descriptions of the attainment targets reached by pupils in the standardised national testing in Italian and mathematics, and in English. The descriptions are included in two separate sections drawn up by the National institute for the evaluation of the education system (Istituto nazionale di valutazione del sistema di istruzione – Invalsi), in charge of the external evaluation of students.