Assessment and initial teacher education in Wales at a time of change: Adapting and learning

David James, Alex Morgan and Emmajane Milton, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK Anna Bryant, Jennie Clement, Judith Kneen and Gary Beauchamp, Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK The COVID-19 pandemic evoked a rapid response in terms of assessment across educational settings (OECD, 2020). This occurred at a time of fundamental change in terms of educational policy in Wales, catalysed by the launch of ‘Education in Wales – Our National Mission’ (Welsh Government, 2017a). The Welsh Government has recently revised the professional standards for teaching and leadership (Welsh Government, 2017b); created a new National Approach to Professional Learning (Welsh Government, 2018a); reformed initial teacher education (Furlong, 2015); launched a new National Strategy for Educational Research and Enquiry (Welsh Government, 2019); and established a new National Academy for Educational Leadership (Welsh Government, 2018b). In addi