Controlled assessment (CA) was introduced as a valid and reliable replacement for coursework in GCSE English and English Literature assessments in 2009. I argue that CA lacks clear definition, typically mimics externally-assessed public examinations and, when interrogated through the Crooks eight-link chain model, is undermined by several threats to validity, reliability and fairness. This is evidenced by the professional experiences of CA stakeholders consulted by Ipsos MORI in their 2011 "Evaluation of the Introduction of Controlled Assessment"; the theoretical threats to validity that may arise during the administration, scoring, aggregation, generalisation, extrapolation, evaluation, decision and impact stages of CA events; and problems of perception concerning CA in English and English Literature that derive from competing purposes. I conclude that CA has not yet proved itself a valid, reliable and apposite replacement for coursework, and that further refinement is necessary if CA is to fulfill this purpose.