‘So, you say we can get dialogue from anyone?’ Teachers’ collaborative implementation of school-level dialogic assessment

While numerous studies have explored the benefits of dialogic teaching, less attention has been given to the development and implementation of dialogic assessment. In this study, we examine how assessment of student dialogic engagement functions as a shared cultural tool and institutional change mechanism beyond individual teachers. We present an ethnography of a school in Israel committed to the long-term sustainability of dialogic pedagogy, in which a key part of this commitment was the integration of a novel rubric into the report card to assess students’ dialogic engagement in classrooms. The analysis reveals three key findings. First, translating theoretical dialogic discourse into assessment practice revealed tensions between dialogic ideals and existing school cultures. Second, teachers’ initial resistance when positioning dialogue as suitable only for ‘advanced’ classes surfaced institutional contradictions that became catalysts for collective learning. Third, collaborative implementation enabled teachers to develop a richer, more contextualised understanding of dialogic participation, distinguishing among actively vocal, selectively participatory and quietly engaged students. We argue that assessment, when collaboratively implemented, can function as an institutional lever for pedagogical change, though the risks of reducing dialogue to checklist categories remain. Implications for dialogic pedagogy and assessment practice are discussed.