ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the latest reforms that has come from the realisation that levels dominate all forms of assessment and there was a deep dissatisfaction that they were not fit for purpose and were often misused. The latest version of the National Curriculum has addressed this by removing the requirements for levels and placing at its heart a greater emphasis on bespoke assessment practices that contain assessment for learning and in-school assessment of learning. The Commission and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) have produced a set of recommendations for the establishment of assessment without the use of levels. The NAHT notes that schools are faced with a job in translating the National Curriculum Age-related expectations (ARE)'s descriptive statements of attainment against national standards into something workable that they can use to judge attainment. Some schools might choose traffic lighting against the ARE. Other schools may choose to use the sample tests or their own testing to assess achievement.
