Curriculum and standards-referenced assessment reform in accountability contexts are increasingly dominated by the use of testing, evidence, comparative analyses of achievement data and policy as numbers all of which have given rise to a set of related developments. Internationally these developments towards the use of standards for assessment and accountability purposes have placed new demands on teachers, their students and parents. How measures of quality are communicated in policy, when represented as standards, how they are promulgated and how they are used in practice, by whom and for what purposes become central questions to an understanding of current assessment practice. The argument developed focuses on the importance of improving public understanding of the implications of standards-driven reforms for teachers in making judgements about the quality of student work. Research of teachers' use of standards, judgement and moderation for both accountability and improvement of learning purposes are drawn upon in arguing the case for increased public understanding of the teacher's role in classroom assessment and pedagogy. Quality processes that aim to develop and to sustain the dependability of teacher judgement within summative assessment systems, and that build trust in teacher judgement practice by the teachers themselves, the parents, the students and the public in particular contexts, are analysed. The role of judgement in assessment, who controls this field and whose judgement counts are critically considered.