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In the majority of syllabuses where coursework was included, its assessment was based upon general mathematical criteria that were not appropriate for the needs of statistics. The most comprehensive guidance was given in NEAB syllabuses, but the suggested choice of topics for A-level work were too similar to those given at GCSE level. Expecting teachers to interpret vague terms such as ‘trivial’, ‘poor’, ‘routine’, ‘satisfactory’, etc., creates problems in moderating the coursework assessments. The exceptions to this were found in the NEAB, MEI and London Modular syllabuses, where reasonable descriptors were given, along with better guidance for teachers. The real problem seemed to be related to the philosophy that statistics is part of mathematics, and hence its coursework is wrongly presumed to be mainly to do with techniques, rather than with data and its interpretation. Very few of the syllabuses distinguished between the different assessment aims that could, and should, apply.