ABSTRACT
The fundamental question that we address in this chapter is: what is the role of assessment in helping pupils learn more effectively? We argue that assessment should be purposeful both for the learners in understanding the progress made and having it recognised, and for the teacher who needs to know what her students can or cannot do in order to move their learning on. The other audience for assessment is outside the classroom: school leadership and governors, parents, and government bodies who, through our reporting of results from internal testing and through the external validation of certificated examinations, can understand how a pupil and groups of pupils in this school and across the country are performing.
