As we await a spring-time report on the Curriculum and Assessment Review and the progress that Becky Francis and her panel are making, Sam Denno sits down with Dr Mick Walker of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors to discuss his experience of working on curriculum design in the past, and how he feels about the current process. Mick articulates both pessimism and hope as he reflects upon the challenges of aligning educational requirements with governmental limitations, and considers the role that assessment plays in the whole conversation.