There are plenty of claims to the power of formative assessment, yet formative
assessment is rarely used to fullest advantage in UK higher education. Causes of this
weakness can be discerned in curricular structures and pedagogy, and their effect is
magnified as the pressures increase on the sector to enhance student employability
and to make 'efficiency gains'. The argument of this paper is that a realisation of the
full potential of formative assessment will require substantial attention to both
curricular structure and pedagogy.