ABSTRACT
Assessment in education is a challenge for students and teaching staff alike. Students
frequently find themselves forced to leap-frog across what can seem like countless
assessment hurdles in the course of their training. At the same time, teachers (lecturers,
tutors and practice teachers) need to ensure that assessment tasks are as effective
and fair as possible. It has been argued that the assessment process may either
facilitate or inhibit transfer of learning, depending on its nature, systems and
procedures (Cree et al. 1998). In this chapter I will develop this idea more fully,
identifying the problems and pitfalls in assessment, as well as the potential for good
practice and the encouragement of transfer of learning. Before doing so, however,
it is necessary to clarify what is meant by assessment in the context of higher
education and social work education.
