This chapter explores the extent to which teaching practice in the Western Balkans responds to the diverse needs of learners. It first examines the different needs that teachers report encountering in their classrooms as well as initial or continuous training that has prepared them for addressing these needs. It then analyses TALIS 2024 data around key pedagogies that underpin a more student-centred approach to teaching and learning, focusing on adaptive and inclusive practices and formative assessment. The chapter explores teachers’ use of these practices - including via digital technologies and artificial intelligence tools - their confidence in using them, and any related training needs they identify.
Findings from TALIS 2024 in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia
Improving Teacher Policies and Practice
Abstract
According to teacher and principal reports, student diversity and needs vary widely across Western Balkan education systems. There is higher ethnic and linguistic diversity in North Macedonia and Serbia, a large number of refugees in Montenegro, and low reported diversity in Albania and Kosovo.
Reported shares of students with special education needs (SEN) in schools in the region are low relative to other countries, which may reflect differences in identification, reporting or integration.
Both reported self-efficacy and professional learning needs indicate that teachers are less confident when it comes to supporting students with SEN than in other areas of their practice and compared to their peers in the European Union (EU) and OECD.
Across the region, young and novice teachers appear to face more complex classrooms than their older colleagues; they report teaching more students with SEN, diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and behavioural issues. This mirrors patterns seen internationally.
According to teacher reports, initial teacher education in the Western Balkans prepares trainees in subject-related expertise but less so in inclusive or student-centred approaches. But there are signs of improvement in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Teachers in the region report frequently using adaptive teaching practices, such as adjusting to students’ needs and asking questions at various difficulty levels. In Albania and Kosovo in particular, many teachers report integrating digital tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to support these practices.
Teachers across the region report frequently employing a range of assessment practices, both formative and summative, and via the use of AI. In general, there is also a high level of reported confidence when it comes to student assessment. Nevertheless, older and more experienced teachers are more likely in several systems to frequently implement summative practices and to identify professional learning needs related to assessment.
Over the past decade, Western Balkan systems have sought to promote more student-centred teaching practices to improve learner engagement, participation and outcomes. Evidence shows that students are more likely to reach their full potential when instruction meaningfully reflects their diversity. This requires teachers to adjust approaches, materials and expectations to support each learner’s growth (Tomlinson, 2015[1]). In the Western Balkans, the move towards student-centred practice is reflected in many policies, from curriculum and assessment reforms to more targeted inclusion measures that help teachers respond to students with special education needs (SEN) (Maghnouj et al., 2019[2]; OECD, 2019[3]; Maghnouj et al., 2020[4]).
The OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) offers insight into how these policy ambitions are reflected in everyday classroom practice. TALIS 2024 captures the extent to which teachers feel prepared to respond to the diverse learning needs of their students, the practices they report using to do so, and their related confidence and learning needs. TALIS 2024 also provides information about variation in these practices by teacher, student and school characteristics, revealing the extent to which learner diversity and responsive teaching are experienced broadly across the system or concentrated in certain settings.
This chapter first examines the diverse learner and learning needs that teachers in the Western Balkans report encountering in their classrooms as well as their reported exposure to initial or continuous training that has prepared them for addressing these needs. It then explores TALIS evidence around key pedagogies that underpin a more student-centred approach to teaching and learning. These are:
1. Adaptive and inclusive practices, through which teachers adjust instruction to respond to students’ prior knowledge and the different learning barriers they may face. Such practices also ensure that all learners feel supported in their social, emotional and cognitive development, regardless of their specific needs.
2. Formative assessment practices, which involve continuously monitoring student progress and providing feedback that teachers and students can use to improve teaching and learning.
Before turning to teachers’ reported use of student-centred practices, this section outlines the context in which teachers in the Western Balkans work, focusing on the diversity of their students. It provides background on both learner needs (i.e. specific student characteristics, such as SEN, refugee status, diverse linguistic or ethnic backgrounds, and socio-economic disadvantage) and learning needs (i.e. challenges students face in engaging with instruction and progressing academically). These two sets of needs place different, though often overlapping, demands on teaching practice.
The section first considers the extent to which these needs are equally spread across schools in the Western Balkans or concentrated in certain contexts. It then explores whether teachers with certain characteristics, such as years of experience, age, or location, are particularly exposed to students with high levels of need. Finally, it examines the extent to which initial teacher education (ITE) and professional development prepare teachers to implement teaching practices that adequately respond to these needs.
School and classroom composition
TALIS 2024 collected information from principals and teachers on the share of students in their schools or classrooms with minority or refugee backgrounds, SEN, academic or behavioural difficulties and those from socio‑economically disadvantaged homes (OECD, 2025[5]).
Student diversity varies across schools and classrooms in Western Balkan systems, with more prevalent ethnic and linguistic diversity in North Macedonia and Serbia, high numbers of refugees in Montenegro and lower reports of diversity in Albania and Kosovo
Principal and teacher reports in TALIS 2024 indicate that schools across the Western Balkans serve student populations with differing ethnic, linguistic and refugee backgrounds, reflecting broader social and demographic diversity across systems (see Figure 2.1).
In North Macedonia, principals’ reports show that for a substantial share of teachers, linguistic and ethnic diversity are a feature of everyday practice. Some 27% of teachers work in schools where more than 10% of students are from minority backgrounds, and 17% work in schools where more than 10% are non-native speakers. At classroom level, around one-in-five teachers report teaching students who have trouble understanding the language of instruction. These figures are consistent with the country’s demographic composition: ethnic minorities account for around 40% of the population with Albanians forming the largest group (Minority Rights Group, n.d.[6]).
In Serbia, ethnic minorities make up around 20% of the population but are often geographically concentrated (Minority Rights Group, n.d.[7]). According to TALIS data, only 9% of teachers work in schools with more than 10% non-native speakers, and 6% report classroom-level difficulties related to understanding the language of instruction. Nevertheless, according to principals, about one-in-four teachers (27%) work in schools where more than 10% of students are from minority backgrounds, indicating that while linguistic diversity may not be a common feature among school cohorts, cultural diversity is.
Learner needs in schools and classrooms according to principal and teacher reports
1. According to teacher reports for a randomly selected class.
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
In Montenegro, about 13% of teachers work in schools where more than 10% of students are from minority backgrounds, but nearly 30% work in schools enrolling at least 1% refugee students. This contrasts with the other four participating systems in the region where the shares of refugee students are much lower. The difference can be explained in part by the inflow of Ukrainian refugees since 2022, with Montenegro hosting the largest community relative to its population in Europe (UNHCR, 2024[9]). Teachers working with refugee children need to meet a variety of complex learning, social and emotional needs, including education, safety, belonging and identity (Cerna, 2019[10]).
In Kosovo, student diversity as reported by principals is low, but language‑related challenges arise in the classroom. Around one-in-ten teachers work in schools where more than 10% of students are from minority backgrounds, while only one-in-twenty work in schools with more than 10% non-native speakers. Despite this, one-fifth of teachers report classroom‑level difficulties related to students’ understanding of the language of instruction.
Finally, in Albania, principals’ reports indicate low levels of linguistic diversity compared to neighbouring systems: 3% of teachers work in schools where more than 10% of students are non‑native speakers, and around 7% report language-related learning difficulties in the classroom.
Reported shares of students with SEN in Western Balkan schools are consistently low relative to EU and OECD systems, reflecting differences in identification and reporting
Across Western Balkan systems, principals report that around 8% of teachers work in schools where more than 10% of students have SEN, compared to 50% across the EU. Reported shares range from below 5% in Albania and Kosovo, to 7% in Montenegro and just over 12% in Serbia and North Macedonia.
These national averages should be interpreted with caution. The observed differences may reflect how education systems identify, record and distribute learners with SEN across schools, rather than differences in the prevalence of need. Although inclusive education reforms across the Western Balkans have sought to integrate students with SEN into mainstream schooling (see Box 2.1), the low system‑wide exposure revealed by TALIS may indicate that these students currently attend a limited number of schools. Dedicated schools for children with disabilities, for example, continue to exist in the region. It could also reflect that some students with SEN are not formally identified or are not captured in administrative data. Research by UNICEF has previously highlighted that, across the region, non‑standard definitions, narrow diagnostic practices and outdated administrative systems mean many students – particularly those with functional or psychosocial difficulties – are not visible in school records (UNICEF, 2023[11]).
Teachers in the region report teaching small shares of low academic achievers and large shares of high achievers, in international comparison
Around one-tenth of teachers in the region report working in classrooms where more than 30% of students are low academic achievers while one-third report teaching in classrooms where at least the same share is academically gifted. In contrast, across the EU, teachers report greater exposure to classrooms with high shares of students experiencing academic difficulties and lower exposure to academically gifted students (24% and 17%, respectively).
There is variation between Western Balkan systems. Reported exposure to classrooms with high shares of low academic achievers ranges from around 4% in Albania to 17% in North Macedonia. The range is larger for academically gifted students, where reported exposure ranges from 20% in Montenegro to close to 40% in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia (see Figure 2.2).
Teacher reports of learning needs in TALIS 2024 can be considered alongside evidence of student learning. In the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, a sizeable share of 15-year-olds in the Western Balkans – over 50% in all systems except Serbia – performed below the PISA benchmark for minimum proficiency, while only a relatively small share achieved high performance (UNICEF, 2024[12]; OECD, 2023[13]). Data from TALIS and PISA are not directly comparable, coming from different years, samples and items. Moreover, when reporting learning needs in their classroom, teachers use national or localised reference points as opposed to international ones. However, the large disparity in identified learning needs suggests that there are challenges related to the reference standards against which teachers in the region determine low and high academic performance. The OECD has previously reported that, in some countries in the region, a lack of coherent learning standards or levels of achievement, for example, make it difficult for teachers to determine students’ academic progress; where these curricular components do exist, teachers may not always receive sufficient guidance on how to use them to assess their students’ learning (Maghnouj et al., 2020[4]; Maghnouj et al., 2019[2]; OECD, 2019[3]).
Share of teachers reporting that they have high shares of low academic achievers or academically gifted students in their classroom
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
Except in Montenegro, novice and young teachers in the region are more likely to work in classrooms with high concentrations of learners with specific needs
As in many EU and OECD systems, reported exposure to students with specific needs varies by teaching experience and age in several Western Balkans systems. Novice and younger teachers are more likely than their older, more experienced colleagues to report working in classrooms with higher concentrations of learner needs. Teachers with five years of experience or less are significantly more likely to report teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms in Albania and North Macedonia (differences of five and eight percentage points, respectively). In Albania, they also report teaching in classrooms with more low achieving students and, in North Macedonia, are more likely to report teaching students with SEN. In both systems, novice teachers more frequently report teaching students with behavioural challenges.
Age‑based gaps reinforce these findings and are often larger and more widespread than those observed by experience. Younger teachers (i.e., those under 30 years) in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia are significantly more likely than older teachers (i.e., those aged 50 and over) to report that students in their classroom experience difficulties in the language of instruction. In all systems, except Montenegro, they are also more likely to report a greater presence of behavioural problems (see Figure 2.3).
Taken together, these results suggest that early‑career teachers in several Western Balkan systems are more likely to work in classrooms with greater heterogeneity in learner needs, which can make teaching more challenging. However, there may be other explanations: novice teachers may be more attuned to identifying specific needs if they have received ITE that embeds student-centred practice, for example. Alternatively, they may perceive more behavioural problems among students because they have had less time to develop classroom management skills than their more experienced colleagues.
Share of teachers who report having students with the following needs in their classrooms, by age
Note: Education systems are listed in ascending order of teachers below 30 years reporting having more than 10% of students with difficulties understanding the language of instruction (Panel A) and more than 10% of students with behavioural problems (Panel B).
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
In both Albania and Kosovo, there are notable differences in the complexity of students’ needs according to school location
In Albania and Kosovo, teachers working in schools in rural settings are significantly more likely to report that more than 10% of students in their class experience difficulties understanding the language of instruction than their colleagues working in urban settings, with gaps of 3 and 4 percentage points. In Albania, teachers in rural settings are also more likely to report teaching classes with more than 10% of students from socio‑economically disadvantaged homes with a rural-urban gap of 9 percentage points. At the same time, teachers in urban settings in Albania are more likely to report teaching students with behavioural challenges, though the magnitude of the difference is modest (around two points). Statistically significant differences in class and school composition are not observed in the data for other participating systems in the region.
Teacher preparedness for student-centred practice
This section examines how prepared teachers in the Western Balkans feel to adapt their instruction and assessment practices to students’ needs. It considers the extent to which their ITE and subsequent professional learning opportunities integrate topics related to student-centred practices that respond to the diverse needs of learners. This includes supporting individualised learning, teaching students with SEN, teaching in multicultural or multilingual settings, and the use of student assessment to support learning.
Reflecting on their ITE, teachers in the Western Balkans report feeling better prepared in subject-related elements of teaching than issues more related to meeting diverse student needs although there are some signs of change in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia
As seen within EU and OECD systems, teachers across the Western Balkans consistently report that their ITE prepared them more strongly for subject-related practice, such as subject content and subject pedagogy, than for aspects which are more directly related to meeting the diverse needs of learners, such as teaching in multicultural or multilingual settings and supporting students’ social and emotional development (see Figure 2.4).
Share of teachers agreeing that their first teaching qualification prepared them for the following areas of practice
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
In all five systems, large majorities of teachers report feeling prepared “quite a bit” or “a lot” to teach subject content; the shares reach 97% and 92% in Albania and Kosovo. Similar results are observed for subject pedagogy and classroom practice, where over 70% of teachers in each system and closer to 90% or more in Albania and Kosovo report feeling prepared.
By contrast, teachers across the region report a lower sense of preparedness in domains associated with meeting learners’ diverse needs, with greater variation between systems. For example, the share of teachers reporting feeling prepared to teach in multicultural or multilingual settings varies across Western Balkan systems by around 40 percentage points from 87% in Albania to 43% in Serbia, compared to a share of 31% across the EU (see Figure 2.4). This may also reflect the contexts in which teachers in the different systems work: according to principal and teacher reports, only small shares of teachers in Albania work in multicultural or multilingual settings, for example (see Figure 2.1). Teachers in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, where ethnic and linguistic diversity are higher, may require more intensive initial training to feel prepared to face the diverse needs of their learners. It is notable, however, that a higher share of older graduates in Albania (i.e., those completing their ITE more than five years prior to the TALIS survey) reported feeling well prepared to teach in multicultural or multilingual settings than their recently graduated colleagues, with a difference of six percentage points.
In Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, the share of teachers reporting that their ITE left them feeling prepared to support students’ social and emotional development also lags behind domains more related to subject expertise. Only around two-thirds of teachers in each country reported feeling well-prepared for this aspect of their practice. Nevertheless, data for North Macedonia and Serbia indicate that there has been progress in recent years: those graduating in the last 5 years feel more prepared for this aspect of their practice than their colleagues, with percentage-point gaps of 11 and 10 points, respectively. The reverse is true in Kosovo, where larger shares of teachers who graduated from ITE five years or more before the TALIS survey reported feeling prepared to support students’ social and emotional development than their more recently graduated colleagues with a gap of nine percentage points.
Teachers in all Western Balkan systems report high participation in professional learning for adaptive and inclusive practices and formative assessment
TALIS also asks teachers about their participation in continuous professional learning during the 12 months prior to the survey across a range of topics, including several related to responding to students’ diverse needs. This includes approaches to individualised learning, teaching students with SEN, teaching in multicultural or multilingual settings, and the analysis and use of student assessment results to inform teaching.
Participation in professional learning related to supporting adaptive and inclusive practices is relatively widespread in the Western Balkans. On average across the region, two-thirds of teachers report recent training in approaches to individualised learning, compared to 50% of teachers across the EU. System-level averages range from 76% in Albania to 59% in Montenegro. Similarly, 62% of teachers across the region report having participated in training focused on supporting students with SEN, ranging from 72% in Albania to 55% in Kosovo. Consistent with exposure in ITE, a smaller share of Western Balkan teachers participated in activities related to multicultural or multilingual teaching, ranging from 56% in Albania to just 30% in Serbia.
Participation in professional learning on the analysis and use of student assessments, a core component of formative assessment, is also comparatively high in the region. The share of teachers reporting participating in related training exceeds the EU share of 45% in all participating Western Balkan systems, from over four-fifths of teachers in Albania and Kosovo to around three-quarters in Montenegro and North Macedonia and just over two-thirds in Serbia.
There are some differences by experience and location in teachers’ participation in professional learning that supports them to address students’ diverse needs, but these vary by system
When it comes to topics linked to meeting students’ specific needs, differences in reported participation in professional learning by teaching experience do not follow a consistent pattern across Western Balkan systems. For example, in Albania, experienced teachers more commonly report recently participating in professional learning on approaches to individualised learning and analysis or use of student assessments than their novice colleagues, with gaps of five and four percentage points. In Serbia, experienced teachers are more likely to report participating in training related to teaching students with SEN, with a gap of six percentage points.
In contrast, in some systems, novice teachers report higher participation in professional learning in topics related to adaptive and inclusive practice. In North Macedonia and Serbia, there are notable gaps in favour of novice teachers for professional learning on supporting students’ social and emotional learning. In Kosovo, there is a six-point gap between the share of novice teachers reporting that they participated in professional learning for teaching in multicultural or multilingual settings and that of their more experienced colleagues.
In some contexts, there are also differences according to teachers’ working location (see Figure 2.5). In Kosovo and North Macedonia, teachers working in urban settings are more likely to report having participated in professional learning for supporting students with SEN than their colleagues working in rural settings with percentage-point gaps of 11 and 14, respectively. Similarly, in Albania, higher shares of teachers working in urban settings report participating in training on teaching in multicultural or multilingual environments. The pattern reverses when it comes to training on the analysis and use of student assessment with shares of teachers in rural settings exceeding those in urban settings in Albania by four percentage points and North Macedonia by seven.
Share of teachers participating in the following professional learning activities in the last 12 months, by school location
Note: Disaggregated data for Montenegro by school location are not available. Education systems are listed in ascending order of the share of teachers in rural areas who report having participated in professional learning activities in the last 12 months related to teaching students with special education needs (Panel A) and analysis and use of student assessments (Panel B).
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
This section examines teachers’ reported use of adaptive teaching practices in the Western Balkans, including via digital tools. It also looks at their confidence in applying these and broader inclusive practices and their perceived training needs. Considering these aspects together helps explore the extent to which instruction in the region is moving beyond more traditional teacher-led approaches towards practices that respond to students’ diverse needs.
Use of adaptive teaching practices
TALIS 2024 asked teachers about their use of adaptive teaching practices, focusing on a set of specific classroom approaches. These include considering students’ prior knowledge when planning lessons, providing different learning materials depending on students’ needs, adapting explanations when students have difficulty understanding, adapting teaching methods to needs and asking questions at various difficulty levels.
High shares of teachers in all Western Balkan systems report frequent use of adaptive teaching practices
According to teachers’ self-reports, adaptive practices are a common feature of teaching in Western Balkan education systems. Very high shares of teachers – consistently around 80% or more in all 5 systems – report “frequently” or “always” using the adaptive practices asked about in TALIS 2024. These shares are comparable to, and often higher than, those observed across EU and OECD systems.
Certain adaptive practices stand out as being particularly common across the region as compared to the EU and OECD (see Figure 2.6). For example, the share of teachers reporting “always” adapting their teaching methods to meet students’ needs ranged from 66% in Albania to 49% in Serbia, compared to an EU share of 47%. Similarly, the share reporting that they “always” ask questions at various difficulty levels to check students’ understanding was consistently over the EU share of 40%, at 46% in North Macedonia, around 50% in Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia and particularly high in Albania at 70%.
In contrast, except for Albania, smaller shares of teachers in Western Balkan systems report “always” considering students’ prior knowledge and needs when planning a lesson as compared to the EU share of 46%. Planning for differentiation is a key aspect of student-centred learning: while in-the-moment adaptation is important, planned differentiation requires teachers to reflect purposefully on learners’ identified needs to anticipate challenges they may face in the classroom as opposed to reacting to them as they arise. Planned differentiation can be particularly important for teachers working in classrooms with students with SEN, those from a multicultural or multilingual background or those with refugee status as these needs require constant adaptation as opposed to topic- or task-dependent adjustments.
Share of teachers reporting that they “always” implement the following adaptive practices in their classroom
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
More female teachers report frequently using adaptive practices than their male colleagues while in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia there are also some notable differences by teaching experience
As seen across EU and OECD systems, female teachers in the Western Balkans are consistently more likely to report frequently using each of the adaptive practices asked about in TALIS than their male colleagues. These gaps are particularly large in North Macedonia and Serbia, where the shares of female teachers reporting “frequently” or “always” considering students’ prior knowledge in lesson planning or asking questions at various levels of difficulty is between 9 and 10 percentage points higher than that of male teachers.
In some Western Balkans systems, differences in the use of adaptive practices can be observed by teaching experience too. Larger shares of more experienced teachers report implementing adaptive practices than their novice colleagues in Albania for three of the practices asked about, in North Macedonia for two and in Serbia for four. The biggest differences are observed for considering students’ prior knowledge when lesson planning: the share of teachers with more than 10 years’ experience reporting this practice is 11 points higher than their less experienced colleagues in Albania, 5 points higher in North Macedonia and 4 points higher in Serbia.
Teachers’ confidence in their capacity to use adaptive and inclusive teaching practices
This section examines teachers’ self‑reported confidence (self‑efficacy) in using adaptive or inclusive practices and their perceived professional learning needs in these areas. This can provide a more informative picture of teachers’ perceived preparedness, helping to identify areas where confidence is high as well as aspects for which teachers may feel less well-equipped. The analysis draws on core adaptive practices covered in TALIS 2024, including varying instructional strategies, helping students progress, adapting teaching to meet diverse learning needs and reducing achievement gaps. It also considers self-efficacy in specific inclusive practices related to supporting students with SEN and fostering multicultural learning environments.
Teachers report high levels of self-efficacy in using core adaptive practices and low professional learning needs, especially in Albania and Kosovo.
Across the Western Balkans, very large shares of teachers report confidence in using several core adaptive practices, such as varying instructional strategies, providing alternative explanations or helping students progress. Reported self-efficacy in these items is near universal in Albania and Kosovo, where over 98% of teachers report they can do these practices “quite a bit” or “a lot”, and remains high in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Reported self-efficacy is lower, however, when teachers are asked about reducing achievement gaps among students, a key end-goal of adaptive practice. While reported confidence is high in Albania and Kosovo (above 90%), shares are lower in Montenegro (71%), North Macedonia (76%) and Serbia (59%).
Teachers’ reported professional development needs in areas related to adaptive practice generally reflect their reported self-efficacy. For example, in Albania, where there are high levels of reported self-efficacy, the share of teachers reporting a "high level of need" for professional learning on approaches to individualised learning is very small at 6%. In contrast, in Montenegro and Serbia where self-efficacy is lower, the shares of teachers reporting learning needs are higher at 14% and 18%. When considering professional learning needs, it can also be helpful to examine the data relative to other reported needs within a system. In this regard, the data again indicate a high level of confidence across the region: Serbia is the only Western Balkan education system for which approaches to individualised learning is not among the 3 least commonly identified areas of the 15 asked about in the survey.
However, being confident in one’s capacity to employ adaptive practices is not enough to achieve high learning outcomes for all learners. PISA 2022 data show that education systems in the Western Balkans have larger-than-average shares of low performing students across reading, science and mathematics. In addition, there are equity concerns: in every Western Balkan economy, 15-year-olds from advantaged backgrounds significantly outperformed their disadvantaged peers in PISA 2022 (OECD, 2023[13]) (see Figure 2.7). Moreover, students learning in minority languages typically have lower performance than their peers. Although these gaps are typically smaller than those seen in many OECD and EU countries, effective adaptive teaching practices will be crucial in achieving both quality and equity in education in the region. To support this, data indicate that teachers could benefit from more support and resources to ensure their adaptive practices are effective.
Source: OECD (2025[5]), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en.
Teachers’ reported self-efficacy and learning needs indicate lower confidence across the Western Balkans when it comes to supporting students with SEN
In all five systems, teacher-reported self-efficacy in inclusive practices for students with SEN, such as designing learning tasks or collaborating with other professionals to support them, is lower than for core adaptive practices. Although reported self-efficacy is again highest in Albania and Kosovo, in both systems the share of teachers reporting that they can implement different inclusive practices "quite a bit" or "a lot" is between 80-90% compared to over 98% for adaptive practices. In Montenegro and North Macedonia, shares are typically around two thirds; in Serbia, they are closer to half. Across the region, teachers are least confident when it comes to adapting standardised assessments so all students with SEN can access them (see Figure 2.8)
Furthermore, teachers’ reported learning needs related to teaching students with SEN are consistently higher across Western Balkan systems as compared to other topics. In Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, of the 15 content areas asked about in TALIS 2024, the highest shares of teachers reported learning needs related to teaching students with SEN at 27%, 24% and 32%, respectively. In Kosovo it was the second most reported need at 26% and in Albania it was the third at 13%.
This alignment between lower confidence in SEN‑related practices and higher reported learning needs suggests that, while teachers feel well prepared to implement core adaptive strategies, inclusive practice for students with more complex needs remains challenging. This is noteworthy given that all five systems now guarantee the right to inclusive education for students with SEN in law and have introduced various measures to support differentiated practice for these learners, including individual learning plans, additional classroom support roles, and new structures bringing specialist expertise closer to mainstream schools (see Box 2.1). Previous regional analysis by UNICEF suggests that while establishing these inclusive structures provides a strong foundation for change, they have not yet translated into consistent classroom differentiation, highlighting implementation challenges related to staffing and other resources, the clarity of roles and responsibilities for teachers and their professional capacity (UNICEF, 2025[14]).
Across the Western Balkans, governments have established legal guarantees for inclusive education and have begun building system-level structures to support its implementation. Reforms tend to centre on three main pillars: teacher training for inclusive education, encompassing adaptive and inclusive pedagogies and including the use of tools for individual instruction, such as individual education plans, modified pathways and adapted programmes; the expansion of in‑class or school‑level support roles, such as teaching assistants and specialist professionals; the establishment of resource centres that mobilise specialist expertise to support mainstream schools.
Albania’s Pre‑University Education Strategy (2021-2026) embeds inclusive and student-centred principles, with several targeted initiatives intended to strengthen teacher and school capacity. The EU4 Inclusive Teaching project (2022-2024) has been particularly important, updating the national professional development curriculum for teachers and training 320 teacher trainers on inclusive and competence‑based teaching. It also developed new models for embedding psychologists and social workers within schools and for transitioning specialised Deaf and Blind schools into resource centres that support the broader school network. However, implementation has been uneven: there are few resource centres in operation, and many schools rely on itinerant specialists or non-governmental organisations for specialist support. Only around 40% of schools have functional inclusive teams.
Kosovo’s progress has been supported in part by the European Union and Council of Europe’s Building capacity for inclusion in education (2020-2023) project, which implemented capacity building for teachers and teaching assistants and targeted support for disadvantaged groups and students with SEN. Kosovo’s Education Strategy 2022-2026 further prioritises inclusive, equitable and student‑centred learning, with a strong focus on improving teaching quality, school management and curriculum implementation.
Since 2008, Montenegro has developed three consecutive Inclusive Education Strategies. The most recent strategy included provisions to convert former special schools into national resource centres, to provide diagnostic, therapeutic and pedagogical support to mainstream schools. In addition, a growing network of local multidisciplinary teams and more than 600 teaching assistants aim to strengthen in-school or in-class support and ensure that specialist guidance is available across regions. The new Education Reform Strategy (2025-2035) integrates improving inclusive education across all four of its strategic goals.
North Macedonia’s Primary Education Law (2019) and related guidance introduced key elements of inclusive practice, including school-based inclusive teams, individual education plans and modified programmes, educational assistants, and the transformation of specialised schools into resource centres. These changes have explicitly positioned inclusion as a responsibility for the entire system rather than one determined by individual school choice. Early evidence points to progress: the average number of students with disabilities in mainstream schools increased from four per school in 2020 to nine in 2024, suggesting growing integration.
Inclusive education has been embedded in legislation in Serbia since 2009, aiming to eliminate the segregation of students with SEN in specialised schools. The law was accompanied by concrete support mechanisms for inclusion, introducing individual education plans, inclusive education teams in schools and a new pedagogical assistant role in schools as well as promoting more flexible curricula and differentiation. Serbia has established 13 resource centres for inclusive education as formal units within the national education system to support mainstream inclusion. Five of these centres have become assistive technology hubs, providing services such as digital assessments of learner needs and access to assistive technology learning tools as well as related guidance and training. Several thousand students with disabilities now benefit from having access to assistive technologies, including adapted hardware and specialised reading and writing software. However, access is uneven and strongest in areas where resource centres are fully operational.
Source: European Commission/Eurydice (2025[15]), Albania: Overview https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/albania/overview (accessed on 26 February, 2026); Republic of Kosovo (2022[16]), Education Strategy 2022-2026, https://masht.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/03-Strategja-e-Arsimit-2022-2026-Eng-Web.pdf (accessed on 19 January, 2026); European Commission (2025[17]), Montenegro: Social inclusion through education and training, https://national-policies.eacea.ec.europa.eu/youthwiki/chapters/ montenegro/66-social-inclusion-through-education-and-training (accessed on 13 January, 2026); Glumbić, Đorđević, Slavković et al. (2025[18]) Assistive technology provision at mainstream schools – Experiences of Serbian resource centres, Technology and Disability, https://doi.org/10.1177/1055418125132238; UNICEF (2025[19]), Analysis on the position of teaching assistants in Montenegro, https://www.unicef.org/montenegro/media/25936/file/Analysis%20on%20the%20position% 20of%20teaching%20assistants%20in%20Mo ntenegro.pdf.pdf (accessed on 13 January, 2026); UNICEF (2024[20]), Policy Brief: Inclusive education in North Macedonia, https://www.unicef.org/northmacedonia/reports/policy-brief-inclusive-education-north-macedonia (accessed on 12 January, 2026).
There is higher reported self-efficacy among teachers in the region when it comes to inclusive practices not directly related to supporting students with SEN. This includes supporting social and emotional learning or implementing practices for multicultural environments, such as adapting to the cultural diversity of students and ensuring that students of different backgrounds work together (see Figure 2.8). Nevertheless, the share of teachers reporting a need for professional learning in these areas is relatively high in some systems. In Serbia, supporting students’ social and emotional learning is the third most reported need for professional learning, with 23% of teachers reporting it. It is the fifth most reported need in North Macedonia (12% of teachers report it) and sixth in Montenegro (20%). On the other hand, teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting is the fifth highest reported need in Albania, with 11% of teachers identifying it.
Share of teachers reporting that they can implement inclusive education practices “quite a bit” or “a lot”
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
In Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, novice teachers more commonly report professional learning needs for some inclusive practices than their experienced colleagues
In some cases, reported professional learning needs for inclusive practices vary by teacher experience. For example, in Albania, a higher share of novice teachers reports learning needs for teaching students with SEN compared to experienced teachers by five percentage points. For teaching in multicultural or multilingual settings, the shares of novice teachers reporting professional learning needs are higher in North Macedonia by four percentage points and Serbia by seven. These findings align with broader TALIS evidence showing that novice or younger teachers more frequently work in classrooms with students with complex needs, including schools with higher concentrations of students with diverse linguistic or cultural backgrounds, students with SEN and students with behavioural difficulties.
Teachers’ use of digital tools to support adaptive and inclusive practices
Digital tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), can help teachers to adapt instruction to students’ individual needs. In addition to teachers’ general use of technology, TALIS 2024 examines the extent to which they use digital tools to support adaptive or inclusive practices. This includes using digital tools that provide personalised learning paths or AI‑based systems that adjust task difficulty in real time or support students with SEN.
According to teacher reports, there is a high use of digital tools to support adaptive and inclusive practice in the region, particularly in Albania and Kosovo
Data from TALIS 2024 reveal that more teachers in the Western Balkans report using digital tools, including AI, for certain adaptive and inclusive practices than across the EU and OECD. Consistently across the region, high shares of teachers report using digital tools for personalised learning paths at least occasionally, ranging from 92% in Serbia to 86% in Kosovo. The EU share is 76%. This pattern is not consistent across all digital practices asked about in TALIS 2024, suggesting that there is a particular preponderance of the use of digital tools for personalisation in the region.
Meanwhile, the share of teachers reporting having used AI tools to automatically adjust the difficulty of lesson materials according to learner needs in the last 12 months is particularly high in Albania and Kosovo at just over 70% and high in North Macedonia (60%). In Montenegro and Serbia, the shares are closer to the EU share of 39%. There is less variation within the region with regards to the use of AI to support students with SEN, although all shares are well above those seen across EU and OECD systems (see Figure 2.9). In contrast to the use of digital tools for adaptive and inclusive instruction, the relatively high use of AI for these purposes in the Western Balkans aligns with a higher reported use of AI tools in general: teachers in the Western Balkans were consistently more likely than their peers in EU and OECD education systems to report using AI tools across all areas asked about in TALIS 2024.
There are some differences in the use of digital tools by teacher and school characteristics, but these are not consistent across the region. The share of younger teachers (i.e., under 30) reporting using digital tools to provide personalised learning paths in Kosovo is 12 percentage points higher than that of their older colleagues (i.e. over 50). In Albania, teachers in rural schools report higher use of AI to automatically adjust the difficulty of lesson materials than those in urban settings, with a difference of 12 percentage points.
The high use of digital tools to support adaptive and inclusive practice may be linked to an acceleration of digitalisation efforts in the Western Balkans in recent years. These efforts have included investments in school connectivity, equipment, national digital platforms and teacher training initiatives, helping to strengthen the enabling environment for digital learning (see Chapter 3, Box 3.2). Nevertheless, according to TALIS 2024, perceived shortages in school digital resources vary across the region: in Serbia only 7% of teachers work in schools whose principal reported that quality instruction is hindered by a shortage of digital resources, below the EU share of 12%. In Montenegro, the share is slightly higher at 10%. It is notably higher in North Macedonia (28%), Albania (41%) and Kosovo (57%). These data are interesting given that teachers in Albania and Kosovo consistently report higher use of AI tools, suggesting they find their own solutions to inadequate resources, such as using personal devices, or they hold higher expectations as to the infrastructure that should be available at school.
Share of teachers reporting that they use digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to support adaptive and inclusive practice
1. Share of teachers reporting that they “occasionally”, “frequently” or “always” use digital resources or tools for this.
2. Share of teachers reporting that they have used AI tools in their teaching for these purposes in the last 12 months.
Note: Items are presented in descending order based on EU total‑22 estimates. Values are displayed in full colour only where the difference from the EU total‑22 estimate is statistically significant.
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
This section examines student assessment practices in the Western Balkans. The analysis reviews how teachers gather evidence on student progress, use assessment information to support learning, and incorporate digital tools, including AI, to implement related practices. Beyond reported use, the section also explores teachers’ confidence in assessing student learning and related professional learning needs. While the analysis considers a range of assessment practices, it places particular emphasis on formative assessment, given its vital role in supporting teaching practices that respond to each learners’ needs.
Use of assessment strategies
TALIS collects information on a wide range of teachers’ day‑to‑day assessment practices, covering both formative and summative approaches. Teachers use formative practices – such as providing oral or written feedback, asking students to assess their own progress, or observing students’ work to offer immediate feedback –during learning to help them adjust instruction to students’ needs. Summative practices include administering an assessment at the end of a unit or assigning marks to show how students performed relative to their peers. Although TALIS does not differentiate between these two types of assessment, data can reveal whether teachers use certain approaches more frequently than others and variation by teacher characteristics.
Teachers in the Western Balkans report frequent use of both summative and formative assessment, but with lower reported use of practices that actively involve students
Overall, teachers in the Western Balkans report very frequent use of both formative and summative assessment practices compared to EU and OECD systems. Nevertheless, reported use follows the same pattern as seen on average internationally in terms of most and least commonly reported practices and there is no clear preference in any of the Western Balkan systems for approaches more suited to formative or more summative uses of assessment data.
Very high shares of teachers report implementing assessment practices that facilitate the formative use of data “frequently” or “always”. For example, 87% of teachers in the region, report regularly observing students and providing immediate feedback, ranging narrowly from 85% in Serbia to 89% in North Macedonia, compared to 83% across the EU. In line with the share seen across the EU, 83% of teachers in the region report regularly providing oral or written feedback, ranging from 80% in North Macedonia to 88% in Montenegro. In contrast, actively involving students in the assessment process through asking them to assess their own progress is much less common in the Western Balkans despite being a crucial component of formative assessment. Teachers in Albania report the highest with 78% “frequently” or “always” implementing student self-assessment, followed by Kosovo and North Macedonia (around two-thirds), then Montenegro and Serbia (around half). This is compared to just 45% of teachers in the EU. Nevertheless, several systems in the Western Balkans have been prioritising efforts to promote more formative assessment and TALIS data indicate that these efforts may have been influencing classroom practice (see Box 2.2).
Teachers in all systems also frequently use summative approaches, such as administering end‑of‑unit assessments and assigning comparative grades although slightly less often than more formative practices with regional averages of 83% and 70%, respectively. The difference in reported frequency of the use of formative and summative assessments is logical: summative assessment summarises learning over a period of time, in order to record, mark or certify achievements whereas formative assessment is intended to be an ongoing process that supports learning as it happens (OECD, 2019[3]). Nevertheless, these averages for more summative practices far exceed the EU shares of 77% and 58% suggesting there may be a greater emphasis on summative assessment in the region.
In Montenegro, the Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035 establishes a set of reforms currently under development to modernise student assessment and align it with competency-based learning goals. This includes plans to expand the use of formative approaches and student-led methods at school level; to increase teacher training on diverse assessment methods, such as self-assessment, peer assessment, portfolios and project-based tasks; and to digitise external assessments through online testing, revised examination catalogues and digital scoring systems. The strategy also foresees the establishment of national assessment standards and monitoring mechanisms to strengthen alignment with curriculum objectives (Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation/UNICEF, 2025[21]).
In North Macedonia, formative assessment has been promoted through the development of national guidance materials for teachers aimed at strengthening the use of feedback-oriented assessment practices in classroom teaching. With support from UNICEF, the Bureau for Development of Education developed a teachers’ handbook on formative assessment to support the implementation of student goal setting, the use of success criteria, questioning techniques, constructive feedback and self- and peer assessment in primary education. The handbook was designed as a practical resource to accompany teacher training on formative assessment and to support teachers in planning instruction based on evidence of student learning (Bureau for Development of Education/UNICEF, 2015[22]). The Bureau also developed complementary guidance on the use of formative assessment with students experiencing learning difficulties. This focuses on adapting instruction, monitoring student progress and supporting inclusive classroom practices through feedback-based assessment strategies (Bureau for Development of Education/UNICEF, 2015[23]).
Serbia has been promoting formative assessment practices as a priority for several years. System-level analyses of school evaluation data revealed the use of assessment to inform learning to be one of the weakest areas of school practice in both primary and secondary education in the country. As such, formative assessment has been a professional learning priority for teachers since 2017 with mandatory training on the topic, more recently, a support package for schools with the lowest results. Th package supports schools to implement comprehensive hybrid professional learning, mentoring and teacher learning communities on key topics, including formative assessment.
Source: Bureau for Development of Education/UNICEF (2015[22]), Formative Assessment in Classroom Teaching: Teachers’ Handbook, Skopje, https://www.unicef.org/northmacedonia/media/3636/file/MK_FormativeAssessmentLowerPrimary_Report_MK.pdf (accessed on 16 March 2026); Bureau for Development of Education/UNICEF (2015[23]), Formative Assessment for Students with Learning Difficulties, https://www.mcgo.org.mk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Formative-Assessment-for-Children-with-Learning-Difficulties-Macedonian.pdf (accessed on 16 March 2026); https://www.mcgo.org.mk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Formative-Assessment-for-Children-with-Learning-Difficulties-Macedonian.pdf (accessed on 9 January 2026); Maghnouj et al. (2019[2]), OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: Serbia, OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/225350d9-en; Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation/UNICEF (2025[21]), Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035, UNICEF Montenegro, https://www.unicef.org/montenegro/en/documents/education-reform-strategy-2025-2035 (accessed on 9 January 2026).
In all Western Balkan education systems, particularly Albania, there is evidence that experienced teachers more frequently implement summative assessment practices
Significantly higher shares of experienced teachers report “frequently” or “always” implementing several assessment practices asked about in TALIS 2024. In Albania, these differences can be observed across four of the six practices included in the survey, meaning that more experienced teachers report more frequently assessing their students’ learning in general. However, the differences are largest and occur in most systems when it comes to summative practices. For example, the share of more experienced teachers reporting frequent use of providing a mark to students that allows for comparison with their classmates is 14 points higher than among novice teachers in Albania, 10 points in Kosovo, 9 points in Montenegro and 7 points in Serbia. Similar differences can be observed in Albania and North Macedonia for administering assessments at the end of a unit of work (see Figure 2.10).
These differences in assessment practice by teaching experience can be viewed alongside the greater time spent by experienced teachers on marking and the higher levels of stress they report feeling with regards to being held responsible for student achievement (see Chapter 1). In several systems, older teachers are more likely to identify professional learning needs related to assessment (see below). Together, the reports of experienced and older teachers in the region indicate that they may feel the pressure of high stakes assessment culture more strongly than their novice colleagues and require further support to implement assessment practices oriented towards supporting students’ learning.
Share of teachers who report that they "frequently" or "always" use the following assessment methods in their class
1. For example, a numeric score, a letter grade, a smiley face.
Note: Education systems are listed in descending order of the share of novice teachers who report that they “frequently” or “always” give a mark to communicate how students performed in relation to their classmates (Panel A) and administer an assessment at the end of a unit or block of lessons (Panel B).
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026).
Teachers’ use of digital tools, including AI, to support student assessment
Digital and AI‑based tools are becoming increasingly relevant for classroom assessment, offering new ways to gather evidence on student learning, provide timely feedback and support teachers’ instructional decisions (OECD, 2026[24]). However, teachers should use AI tools with care when automated systems are processing student work or assessment data, given data privacy and ethical considerations. TALIS 2024 provides insight into how teachers in the Western Balkans use digital and AI tools for student assessment, covering digital assessment and feedback practices and tools that allow students to monitor their own learning. It also explores the use of AI tools to assess or mark student work, generate feedback to parents and review data on student performance.
The uptake of AI tools to support student assessment is high in the Western Balkans relative to EU and OECD education systems
Overall, teachers in the Western Balkans report higher use of AI tools for assessment than teachers across EU and OECD systems, in line with their high reported use of AI in general. Across the three practices measured – assessing or marking student work, generating text for student feedback or parent communication, and reviewing student data – regional averages are above the EU level. For example, while 56% of teachers across the Western Balkans report using AI to review data on student participation or performance in the last 12 months, only 29% of teachers in the EU report the same. Within the region, the share ranges from 67% in Albania to 44% in Montenegro. Reports of other practices follow a similar pattern with Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia typically having the highest reported practice, although shares in Montenegro and Serbia are also above those for the EU.
In contrast, the share of teachers in Western Balkan education systems reporting that they “frequently” or “always” use digital tools for assessment practices is typically more in line with EU and OECD shares. For example, 40% of teachers in the EU report using digital tools to assess student learning with shares in the Western Balkans ranging from 51% in Albania to 37% in North Macedonia. Reports follow a similar pattern for the use of digital tools to allow students to plan and monitor their own learning. When it comes to using digital tools to provide feedback to students, Serbia is a notable outlier: 76% of teachers in Serbia report “frequently” or “always” using such tools, compared to shares for the rest of the region which range from 26% in Kosovo to 40% in Montenegro.
In Kosovo, teacher reports indicate that older, experienced teachers are much more likely to report using AI to support assessment than their younger, less experienced colleagues
In several Western Balkan systems, age‑ and experience‑related differences appear in teachers’ use of digital tools for student assessment, however, there are no consistent patterns within or across systems. In Kosovo and Montenegro, younger teachers report more frequent use of digital tools that allow students to plan and monitor their learning (gaps of 10 and 18 percentage points), and in North Macedonia they report higher use of digital tools for assessing student learning (around 9 points). By contrast, older teachers in Albania and Serbia report more frequent use of digital tools to provide feedback on student work (gaps of 13 and 9 points).
Differences also emerge in the use of AI‑based assessment tools. In Kosovo, there are consistent differences by teaching experience and age. For example, the share of teachers with more than 10 years of experience reporting using AI for assessing or marking student work is 19 points higher than that of novice teachers. For reviewing student assessment data, the gap is 14 points and for generating feedback it is 13 points. Although there are some differences by age in Albania and North Macedonia, again in favour of older teachers, these are not consistent across the three areas of practice.
Teacher confidence in their capacity to implement formative assessment practices
TALIS examines teachers’ self‑reported confidence in key aspects of classroom assessment including crafting good questions, varying assessment strategies, and providing feedback that supports learning, all of which are particularly relevant to formative assessment. TALIS also identifies areas where teachers report needing further development, including with regards to analysing assessment information and using it to guide instruction as well as applying different assessment approaches.
Teachers in the Western Balkans report near-universal confidence in their assessment practices but related training needs are relatively high in Montenegro and Serbia
Teachers across the Western Balkan systems report very high levels of confidence in key assessment skills. For example, across the region, 95% of teachers report that they can craft good questions “quite a bit” or “a lot”, ranging from 99% in Albania to 90% in Serbia. Response rates are similarly high for using a variety of assessment strategies and providing feedback to support student learning, although reported self-efficacy is consistently higher in Albania and Kosovo, and lower in North Macedonia and Serbia.
Despite this broad confidence and widespread reported participation in assessment-related professional development, important shares of teachers in some Western Balkan systems report training needs in these areas. For example, in Montenegro, 21% of teachers report a "high level of need" when it comes to student assessment in general, as do 20% of teachers in Serbia. Similar shares in each country also report high needs for training on the analysis and use of student assessments. This contrasts with teachers in Albania, of whom only 6% reported learning needs in these areas. The learning needs expressed by teachers in Montenegro and Serbia may reflect a perception that the current training offer on assessment does not adequately meet teachers’ needs; alternatively, it may reflect teachers’ recognition of the complexity of student assessment, its important role in raising outcomes and its prioritisation among policymakers in recent years (see Box 2.2).
Differences in assessment confidence and learning needs emerge across career stages in several Western Balkan systems
Age- and experience-related differences related to self-efficacy in assessment practices appear in several systems in the region. For crafting good questions, younger teachers in Montenegro and North Macedonia are more likely to report high confidence with gaps of four percentage points (see Figure 2.11). In contrast, older teachers report higher confidence for using a variety of assessment strategies in Serbia (12 points) and Albania (2 points).
Reported learning needs show a different pattern. Older teachers in Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo are more likely to indicate a need for further support in student assessment practices with gaps of 16, 16 and 13 percentage points, respectively. Serbia stands out as an exception, with younger teachers reporting greater assessment‑related professional development needs by around 10 percentage points, consistent with trends observed across many systems participating in TALIS.
Note: Education systems are listed in descending order by the share of teachers 50 and over reporting that they can craft good questions for students “quite a bit” or “a lot” (Panel A) and a “high level of need” in student assessment practices (Panel B).
Source: OECD (2025[8]), TALIS 2024 Statistical Compendium, https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTA0YzRhYmUtY2M0Ny00MGQxLWJh NTEtZTViNTU4NWRjYzM0IiwidCI6ImFjNDFjN2Q0LTFmNjEtNDYwZC1iMGY0LWZjOTI1YTJiNDcxYyIsImMiOjh9 (accessed on 3 February 2026f).
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