The focal paper by Baird et al. in this special issue argues that there are few issues more important in education than the relationship between assessment and learning. On the one hand, learning is the ultimate goal of all educational interventions; on the other, assessment has become a leviathan that constrains and shapes virtually all of that formal educational activity. Thus, the argument in "Assessment and Learning: Fields Apart" (Baird, Andrich, Hopfenbeck & Stobart, 2017) that theories of learning and theories of assessment should be developing more closely with each other is very welcome. In response to this article, the author addresses three central issues that she feels merit further discussion. These are: (1) What are the really key issues in this relationship that need urgent attention as opposed to those issues which are more "academic niceties" and why?; (2) Is there more to be said about learning theory that is relevant to assessment than is discussed in the stimulus article? ;and (3) Are there novel theoretical or practical developments--either in the field of education or more generally--that might facilitate a more fruitful coming together of the two fields of assessment and learning? [This article is a commentary on Jo-Anne Baird, et al.'s "Assessment and Learning: Fields Apart" (EJ1149539).]