學習成就評量是教育過程中一項必要工作，不僅教師們在課堂教學中需要進行評量，瞭解學生學習情形，而且學校及各級教育主管單位，也都要推展評量，為教育成效把脈，以便掌握各級教育績效以及教育品質，為教育決策提供實證資料。目前世界主要國家無不積極推展學習成就評量以檢視國民在國際上的競爭能力。有鑑於此，本文旨在討論大型學習成就評量的各種功能以及設計評量時應考慮的事項，供國內負責推展大型學習成就評量工作以及有志參與此類評量的人員做參考，以便能更有效地推展國內教育評量工作。

Student assessment is an essential part of the education process. At the classroom level, teachers would assess students to find out whether they have learnt what has been taught, and then make adjustments or modifications in their instruction. Similarly, at the school, school district, or national level, student assessments are performed to monitor educational progress and evaluate the overall quality and efficiency of education. Moreover, in the modern knowledge-based world, the information resulting from student assessment is extremely important because it reflects a country’s competitiveness. For these reasons, this paper synthesizes information about the multiple functions of student assessment and their respective design considerations, in the hope that such information would be helpful for the development of an efficient and effective student assessment program in Taiwan.