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This study was commissioned to investigate whether or not the use of different assessment methods makes a difference to learner achievement and progress in the learning and skills sector [LSS]. The research found that clarity in assessment process and criteria has underpinned the widespread use of coaching, practice and provision of formative feedback to boost achievement. However, it also indicates that such transparency encourages instrumentalism and that this is the most significant challenge confronting assessment in the LSS: balancing the explicitness of learning objectives and instructional processes against the validity and worthwhileness of learning outcomes. The study identified an enduring divide between post-16 academic and vocational tracks and the different methods of assessment employed in those tracks. More practical forms of learning and assessment are favoured in the vocational track, but achievements attained by these methods are still regarded as of lower status when compared with 'traditional' examination results.