ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces assessment as a complex and problematic site of identity development. It focuses on the spatial and temporal aspects of assessment aligns with a sociocultural perspective on learning. The chapter explores the Wengerian concept of boundaries in practice. It presents assessment settings as spaces for the negotiation of value, suggesting that in traditional assessment settings spatial, dialogical and intergenerational aspects of present practice are ignored in favour of a past- or future-oriented approach. The chapter suggests that assessment practices which better align with the identities and values of young people in the present offer a more sustainable approach to assessment practice. The many faces of assessment in public policy and private practice reveal that assessment exists across a number of sites and between a number of actors - teachers, students, principals, college admissions officers, potential employers.
