The last two decades have seen fast-moving and wholescale changes in the ways that education is now provided in French schools, in the nature of learner assessment, and in the form and scale of system evaluation. Innovation and reform have in part followed international trends, themselves triggered by the global impact of the international attainment surveys, and are in part a response to growing economic pressures, EU initiatives and increasingly burdensome examination logistics. One of the most recent reforms, and arguably the most dramatic, concerns the iconic 'academic' "baccalauréat," which sees a reduced subject profile for formal examination and the new addition of teacher assessment to complement examination achievements. The most ambitious innovations are arguably those introduced into the newest form of accountability-focused system monitoring. The article overviews these innovations and reforms, along with the motivations that led up to them, and briefly reflects on potential future consequences, both expected and unintended.