I giovani e le loro competenze linguistiche secondo i dati INVALSI. Una prospettiva di analisi linguistico-educativa

The main aim of this paper is to reflect upon the linguistic competencies of young Italians using data collected through the INVALSI tests. The analysis adopts the perspective of Educational Linguistics: recognising that language assessment is a crucial component of every process of learning and teaching a language, it is imperative to elucidate the purpose, construct and context, as well as use, and the interpretation of the results, especially in the case of such a high­stakes test as the INVALSI. To do this, we will take into consideration Italian language tests. We will analyse several examples of tests delivered in recent years from Grade 2 to Grade 13, trying to consider to what extent these tests are valid and can represent the linguistic competence of young Italians. Finally, we will discuss the results of students from immigrant backgrounds since they represent a considerable part of classes today.