ABSTRACT
This chapter describes why recent proposals relating to the assessment of pupils with learning difficulties within the National Curriculum are causing confusion and concern for many of the professionals involved. It is possible to discern an emerging pattern of development in terms of assessment practice in special education. Assessment involves the collection of evidence about which judgments are made. The science of mental measurement or psychometrics dominated the development of many assessment procedures. The National Curriculum marks a watershed for the development of assessment practice in England and Wales. There is little doubt that pupils with special educational needs are unlikely to be valued customers in ordinary schools in such a climate. Perhaps it is a lack of understanding about the purposes of assessment that is the cause of much of the current confusion. Further confusion has been caused by the decision to subordinate teacher assessment to standard assessment tasks.
