Since 2002 there has been a noticeable willingness in some assessment policy statements in the UK to consider alternatives to using external tests for summative assessment of pupils’ performance. For example, the trend towards giving teachers a more central and professional role in summative assessment is shown in policy changes in England, in giving teachers of seven-year-olds more responsibility for pupil assessment from the summer of 2005, and in the reforms taking place in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.