In all countries assessment is an increasingly high profile and contentious area of educational policy. In the past, Scottish education and its associated assessment systems were regarded as a gold standard across the world. This book examines past and emerging innovative policy and practices in educational assessment in Scotland set against a highly charged political background. How can a small nation like Scotland assert its national educational identity in a global context? How can new theories of educational assessment promote revolutions in practice? What lessons can we learn from the tensions and conflicts of the past between policy and practice? The authors have written a highly topical and contentious critical insiders' view of how innovative assessment systems have evolved and the lessons to be learned for developers everywhere.