We may choose to assess students for a variety of reasons. The main ones have traditionally been to:

• grade or rank students;
• compare students' performance relative to each other;
• pass or fail students;
• facilitate student progression, in particular to ensure a prerequisite level of ability for further study;
• contribute to final degree classification.

This view of assessment has been broadened in recent years to encompass more diverse, teacher- and learner-orientated conceptions. Assessment is seen as something that should arise as naturally as possible out of the teaching process, rather than as something separate that is 'bolted on' to the end of a module. Far from merely providing a summative, pass-or-fail judgement at the end of the course, assessment is now generally accepted as a central feature of all learning and teaching which not only provides important feedback to teacher and student, but also, in the process, helps to shape subsequent learning and teaching.

From the tutor's point of view, assessment provides information on the following:

• Have the learning outcomes been met?
• How effective has my teaching been?
• How effective have the learning materials been?
• How have particular individuals performed? Do I need to do more to address their needs?
• What needs to happen next?
• How can I improve the course?

From the student's point of view, on the other hand, the purpose of assessment seems to reside in the following:

• lending direction and purpose to my learning;
• providing (positive) feedback on what I can do well and what I know;
• acknowledging and recognizing my success and thus maintaining my motivation and encouraging further success;
• diagnosing my faults, areas of weakness and lack of knowledge;
• providing constructive feedback on how I can address my shortcomings and improve my performance.

On a less idealized, more pragmatic view, assessment, especially in today's market-led HE, is often the principal focus of students' attention, determining what they see as important and how they spend their study time (Brown et al, 1997). Indeed it is assessment considerations that frequently drive students and dictate their choice of options and learning tasks:

[…] assessment systems dominate what students are oriented towards in their learning. Even where lecturers say that they want students to be creative and thoughtful, students often recognise that what is really necessary, or at least what is sufficient, is to memorise. (Gibbs, 1992: 10 )

Such a stance governs the behaviour of those students who learn 'strategically', ie those who realize that they need to learn only certain things to obtain a reasonable mark in an assignment or exam, and will therefore ignore or avoid what we consider desirable additional or alternative learning activities. This has clear implications for us as tutors. We need to recognize that, despite what we may think should motivate students, in practice if we want to change the way students learn, then we need to change the way we assess them. See also section 13.1.5.)