LEARNING ASSESSMENT IN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION: FROM THE FORMATIVE PERSPECTIVE TO ASSESSMENT JUSTICE

Abstract

Learning assessment occupies a central place in Youth and Adult Education (EJA), a field characterized by the diversity of students’ educational, social, and professional trajectories. This article analyzes the foundations and challenges of assessment in EJA by articulating formative assessment, equity, and assessment justice. This qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary study was developed through a critical literature review, with emphasis on studies published between 2020 and 2026, as well as classical authors and Brazilian educational regulations. The analysis revealed the persistence of practices centered on grades and classification, alongside approaches that assign assessment diagnostic, mediating, and instructional functions. It also highlighted the importance of recognizing prior knowledge, making assessment criteria explicit, diversifying evidence, and using results to reorganize pedagogical practices. Based on this analysis, five principles were systematized: recognition, clarity, plurality, pedagogical consequence, and equity. The study concludes that fair assessment in EJA preserves academic rigor while seeking to create more appropriate conditions for students to learn and demonstrate their knowledge.