ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the assessment through the specific context of Ireland during the period of 2012 to 2018 as this time represents a pivotal point in the socio-political history of the development of assessment in Ireland. It provides a brief history of curriculum and assessment reform at junior cycle level in Ireland as it provides a contemporary prism for debate around assessment of learning in a post-primary context. Assessment, and most particularly summative assessment, has become ingrained into the sociocultural fabric of many countries. The chapter examines the process of curricular reform in Ireland at the level of the state, and how assessment became a political battleground that provides an example of how policy is never just written. It shows how policy is negotiated, advocated for by some, opposed by others, and evolutionary in nature.
