Mathematics Assessment: Everything old is new again? The Annual Clements/Foyster Oration

Over the past decade or so there has been much rhetoric about assessment. There are assessment websites replete with ¨Drich tasks¡¬, work samples, standards, and definitions. The MySchool website reports data from large scale assessments. Teachers are exhorted to use assessment as a tool for learning. What has all of this activity achieved? Research evidence is scant and conflicting. It is time to assess mathematics assessment and to reconsider the purpose, nature and use of assessment information.