Uneven Institutionalization of Formative Assessment Strategies under Indonesia’s Merdeka Curriculum: A Collective Case Study in Primary Education

Abstract

Although formative assessment is positioned as a central component of Indonesia’s Merdeka Curriculum, little is known about whether Black and Wiliam's (2009) five formative assessment strategies become institutionalized with comparable consistency and depth in classroom practice. Addressing this gap, this study examines the uneven institutionalization of formative assessment strategies in primary education and explores how curriculum reform interacts with teacher practices, school-level support, and student agency. Using a qualitative collective case study design, the study was conducted in five elementary schools and madrasah ibtidaiyah implementing the Merdeka Curriculum. Data were collected through non-participant classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with principals, teachers, and students, and document analysis, and were analyzed through thematic cross-case comparison. The findings reveal that formative assessment strategies do not develop in parallel. Strategies characterized by high institutional visibility and compatibility with established teacher routines, particularly learning intentions, evidence elicitation, and feedback, were more consistently institutionalized because they were reinforced through curricular guidance, documentation requirements, and academic supervision. In contrast, peer assessment demonstrated uneven pedagogical depth, while self-assessment remained weakly embedded due to limited assessment literacy, time constraints, and the continued dominance of summative assessment practices. Consequently, formative assessment predominantly functioned as assessment for learning rather than as assessment for learning. The study contributes to theory by extending Black and Wiliam’s framework through the concept of uneven institutionalization, demonstrating that formative assessment strategies follow differentiated developmental trajectories during curriculum reform in a developing-country context. The findings further suggest that successful learner-centered assessment reform requires not only policy adoption but also systematic support for teacher assessment literacy, evidence-informed academic supervision, and the deliberate development of students’ self-regulation and evaluative agency.