ABSTRACT
The assessment of childrens' reading at the age of 16 is area of deep concern. The revised general certificate of secondary education (GCSE) syllabus prohibits dual certification and the proposed National Curriculum orders with their prescriptive list of texts suggest there is going to be little time left for teaching English literature as an additional GCSE. Some basic criteria for assessment would include a pupil's reading, writing, talking and listening abilities as well as, Evans has suggested, such qualities as 'initiative, tolerance, cooperation, perseverance, conscientiousness and enthusiasm'. The main emphasis in GCSE has been on positive evaluation of pupil outcomes and the development of 'conferencing', negotiation and self-assessment in the recording of achievement. However, the same research also reveals anxieties that these commonly-shared principles may be compromised by the statutory demands of National Curriculum testing. It is important to repeat the principle expressed English departments should have ownership of the chosen system of the curriculum and its assessment.
