In the last few years, New South Wales has witnessed a change in the method of assessing pupil achievement in the final stage of secondary education. What was once done through a public examination is now carried out through a combination of the former method together with school-based assessment. This article considers the procedures which have been developed for the two music programmes which are offered in Years 11 and 12, and concludes with an examination of the advantages and disadvantages of the current approach.