ASSESSMENT AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY: CREATING MEANINGFUL ASSESSMENTS AS THE BASIS FOR FORMULATING EDUCATIONAL POLICY

Assessment has a strategic position in modern education because it serves as a tool for measuring  learning outcomes and as a basis for formulating evidence-based education policies. So far,  assessment practices in many schools still emphasise accountability rather than their role as instruments for reflection and improvement of learning. This condition risks reducing the meaning  of education and shifting the purpose of learning from a humanistic process to merely obtaining  numbers. Teachers with low literacy tend to view assessment as merely an administrative  obligation, so opportunities to use it as a diagnostic and student development tool are often  overlooked. This study examines how assessment can be designed to be more meaningful while  supporting equitable education policies. The method used is a qualitative literature review, which  examines academic literature, research results, and relevant policy documents. The analysis was  conducted descriptively and inductively to understand the reciprocal relationship between  assessment and policy. The study results show a significant gap between ideal normative policies  and actual practices in the field. Teachers still rely on traditional test-based assessments, even  though policies encourage formative, diagnostic, and project-based assessments. Limited literacy,  school culture, and accountability pressures reinforce this gap. The recommendations of this study  are the importance of improving teacher assessment literacy through continuous training,  formulating inclusive and fair assessment policies, strengthening multi-stakeholder participation  in policy formulation, and balancing accountability with pedagogical functions so that assessment  becomes a meaningful learning tool

Keywords: assessment, education, policy