ABSTRACT
Identification of the students who are 'different' and, therefore, who is eligible for special educational provision may depend on the results of norm-referenced assessment that is designed to indicate a learner's achievement in comparison with others. The awareness of learning and ability of learners to direct it for themselves is of increasing importance in the context of encouraging lifelong learning. 'Reading age' is a very commonly used concept in relation to norm-referenced assessments of literacy learning, for example, in standardised assessments such as the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability. Assessment should be viewed as a tool that supports learning and not simply as a politically expedient solution to perceived concerns about standards and ways to make schools accountable to parents, families, and society as a whole. Observing children and young people in the environment of the classroom or school is something that is a part of teachers' everyday practice.
