Assessment and testing have a strong effect on the lives and careers of young people.
Decisions taken within and by schools influence the prospects and opportunities of their pupils
and of even greater importance are their results of national tests and examinations. When the
results of tests and examinations are used to pass judgments on teachers and schools, they also
affect the ways in which pupils are taught. Given their importance, it is essential that results of
summative assessment should reflect and influence school learning in the best possible way.