Assessment Challenges, the Law and the Future

Abstract

This chapter takes a legal perspective on educational assessment issues, examining court responses to challenges to educational assessment in the jurisdictions of Australia, the United States of America (United States) and England. To date, the predominant focus of legal challenges in education has been regarding either education for children with special needs, or allegations of negligence resulting in physical or emotional injury. However, throughout the jurisdictions considered, challenges on assessment-focused grounds have included discrimination in assessment and testing, allegations of inappropriate assessment and/or failure to provide appropriate educational instruction as a result of errors in assessment. The chapter explains briefly the nature of law in the jurisdictions considered, including legislation and case law.