Abstract:
An important rationale for higher education is that it equips students for learning beyond
the point of graduation. Thispaper considers the role that assessment plays in this. It suggests we need
to take a new perspective on assessment: assessment to promote learning throughout life. It focuses
on ideas that can be used to contribute to the construction of assessment practices and on wider
implications for course design. It concludes by exploring barriers to acceptance of this perspective and
how they might be addressed.