Assessment guides, restricts, supports and strangles: Tensions in teachers’ conceptions of assessment during an assessment reform

This study examines tensions in teachers' conceptions of assessment following an assessment reform in Finland, which has traditionally been a low-stakes assessment culture. There are no national examinations in comprehensive education; instead, teachers assign students' final grades. Recently, the country has introduced more detailed criteria for the final assessment to improve the comparability of grades. The analysis of 28 teacher interviews reveals that this relatively minor reform has created four significant tensions in teachers’ conceptions of assessment. We call for assessment reforms to be culturally sensitive, carefully considering the context in which they are implemented and paying attention to possible tensions. •Implementing assessment reforms requires teachers to change not only their practices but also their conceptions.•In Finland, a minor assessment reform created considerable tensions in teachers' conceptions of assessment.•The tensions reflected the purposes and societal values of assessment in Finnish basic education.•Understanding tensions in teachers' conceptions of assessment is informative in reform situations.•Tensions should be taken into account when planning and implementing assessment reforms.