ABSTRACT
Assessment of learning or assessment for learning? Any assessment is only as good as the action that arises from it. This is what is meant by ‘consequential validity’. In other words, measurement for its own sake has no value; it is the inferences that are drawn from it and the actions that are taken on the basis of these inferences that determine the value of assessments. Since the purpose of schools is the education of children, assessments have little value unless they contribute to that purpose. They should help students to learn better and, in so doing, raise their achievements and contribute to school improvement. Assessment results alone cannot do this because, as the saying goes, you cannot fatten the pig simply by weighing it. Something has to be done with assessment data. Assessment of learning is therefore insufficient for educational purposes; assessment for learning is necessary.
