This paper argues that, despite the obvious and important differences between high-stakes and low-stakes assessment, there remain important points in common. These manifest themselves at a sociological level, where each tradition of assessment shares a similar disposition towards power. It is argued that both high-stakes and low-stakes assessment, as they are practised in England today, act together in support of a wider regime of power. This regime relies upon the construction of specialised subjectivities, defined by a myopic and self-perpetuating concern with individual progression. (Contains 2 notes and 2 figures.)