Why has it taken so long for the penny to drop about Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP)? (“Don’t worry, be APPy: but onslaught of new assessment regime causes woe”, May 14). We have had conversations with inspectors, who have confirmed the local mediation and support necessary to “make sense” of the Assessment Focus jigsaw puzzle - to what purpose?

More worrying is that APP ignores that learning is a continuum and that analysing and supporting a child’s development is the role of an education system, not the pursuit of endless summative “snapshots”. Formative learning integrates continuous assessment into the teaching process so that the learner is supported by an informed dialogue on hisher learning journey.

Bill Boyle, Manchester University, and Marie Charles, Pearson Learning Solutions.