ABSTRACT
The passing of the Education Reform Act (ERA) in 1988 marked a strikingly new phase in education characterized by central government control of the content of the curriculum across the 5 to 16 year age range. As enshrined in the ERA the content of the National Curriculum has been the subject of considerable criticism. A central element of the National Curriculum was an elaborate system for the assessment of children's performance and progress. The overseeing and subsequent development of the National Curriculum assessment system was entrusted to the School Examinations and Assessment Council set up by the government at the same time as the National Curriculum Council in England and the Curriculum Council for Wales (CCW). In addition the schools received all of the statutory and non-statutory National Curriculum guidance documents produced by the CCW. The chapter also presents the overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
