Assessment should improve learning and not just monitor it. As Lambert (1999) states, teachers are ‘doing’ assessment without really ‘thinking’ about assessment and its impact on the student. Examining how pre-service teachers (PTs) perceive and implement assessment may provide clues as to how we can refocus the way future teachers use assessment. The purpose of the study was to examine PTs’ understanding of the role of assessment and evaluation on student learning and instruction while implementing a high school physical education program. PTs (n=17) participated in a curriculum class in which they designed and implemented curricula during a practicum for the local high school program four days a week throughout the semester. The content of the course specifically focused on using assessment concepts to drive instructional design using a Teaching for Understanding framework (Wiggins, 1998). PTs experienced and discussed the role of needs assessment, assessment focused instruction, and authentic and alternative assessments in relation to student learning and instruction. Data gathered included surveys and interviews documenting PTs prior beliefs and conceptions, current perceptions of the assessment concepts used during the course and in their units; analysis of assessments used in unit plans, and PTs perceptions of assessment used on student learning and instruction during and after the taught unit. Results indicated that PTs prior experiences in assessment were primarily positive, traditional and mostly related to the fitness components. They perceived that assessment was important so that students know their level of achievement and become motivated, and that teachers knew how to increase student learning, achieve standards, assesses teacher effectiveness, and determine student level of performance. PTs planned and implemented alternative/authentic as well as traditional assessments in three out of four units. Even though student learning was of great importance to PTs (82%), only 42% felt assessment was critical for instruction. Only 35% agreed that assessment had an impact on student learning when they taught. Despite ultimate lack of teacher authority, PTs (63%) felt that doing these assessments affected their beliefs about assessment. Overall, PTs learned that assessment needs to align with objectives, identifies what student already knows, enriches and defines student learning, provides concrete data, when students know what the assessment is –they will focus on it, teaches students responsibility and that the wrong assessment can influence morale and be a lot of work. The results indicate that shaping critical and authentic assessment experiences in teacher preparation deserves increased attention.Keyword(s): assessment, college level issues, professional preparation