This contribution examines teacher assessment in primary schools in England and France to explore the conceptions of equity that underlie practice in both contexts. It uses data from classroom observations (24 weeks in 12 classrooms), teacher interviews and official documentation. It considers tensions between the levels of government policy and classroom practice, and highlights culturally embedded understandings of equity across two national contexts. Assessment requires a selection of the criteria considered relevant to form a judgement. Decisions are made as to whether assessment should be norm- referenced or criterion-referenced; whether it should produce an 'objective' measurement of outcome or take into account efforts, progression, and social and ethnicity background. Potential tensions arise between official policy, teachers' values, and perceived children's needs. Inside France and England differing views of equity prevail at different levels of the education system. At the same time, cross-cultural comparison reveals a broadly coherent understanding of equity within each of the two national contexts. Although in interviews French and English teachers expressed similar concerns for pupils' self-esteem and motivation, the range of practice available in mainstream education was constrained by cultural, political and educational traditions and values, making actual practice highly context specific.