Key Points

This chapter reiterates the call for selecting assessment approaches that best suit the needs of students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders. No one approach to assessment can serve all needs. Therefore, rather than viewing assessment as an either/or choice between formative or summative approaches, choosing whichever is most appropriate for a particular purpose at a particular time is best. The chapter also highlights key issues for the coming years. These include: digital assessment; assessing cross-disciplinary skills; use by teachers and schools of assessment evidence to evaluate their own practice; inclusive assessment; and the continuing rise and policy impact of national and international assessment programmes. In all this, the need to focus assessment activity fundamentally on student learning, albeit perhaps from the perspective of different stakeholders, is essential.