"What gets assessed is what gets taught" is a common assertion whose meaning is often underestimated. It is not just "what" gets assessed, but "how" it is assessed that has implications for what is learned. When a child who is asked the meaning of his report card grades responds, "If I knew that I'd be the teacher" he is saying something about the relationships of authority learned in the process of assessment. When a teacher wishes out loud that her faculty "could discuss retention and realistic expectations for grade levels without the nastiness and accusations," she is also reporting on the relational aspect of assessment practices (Johnston, 2003, p. 90). Our goal in this article is to offer a framework for understanding literacy assessment that incorporates these dimensions and reminds us of the broader picture of literacy assessment of which we often lose sight.