Rob Coe – one of the leading education researchers in the world – is torn on the term ‘catch-up’, the phrase now widely used to refer to ‘lost learning’ over the period of the pandemic. But what he is more sure about is how assessment should work to spot any learning gaps that have emerged in the 12 months of the coronavirus pandemic. He speaks to Tes editor Jon Severs about the research around assessment and what schools should do with it.