Intended to provide a broad introduction to the subject of student assessment, this booklet begins by discussing the role of assessment in any systematic approach to course or curriculum design and explains the difference between assessment and evaluation. Four basic features of a good student assessment procedure are then discussed, i.e., validity, reliability, practicability, and fairness/usefulness. The differences between criterion-referenced assessment and norm-referenced assessment are also explained, and guidelines for constructing a test or other form of assessment are presented. The booklet concludes with discussions of five methods commonly used to carry out student assessment in terms of their design characteristics, functions, and strengths and weaknesses: (1) traditional extended writing tests; (2) objective tests; (3) practical tests; (4) unobtrusive assessment; and (5) self and peer assessment. An annotated list of three items recommended for further reading is included. (MES)