Western societies have become increasingly knowledge and information based economies, and educational reforms have put measurable knowledge and assessment at the top of the agenda in order to create effective schools. In this paper, we critically explore the relation between silence, education and assessment, drawing mainly on the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and to some extent the work of Otto Friedrich Bollnow. Our overall aim is to open up for discussion the significance of silence in education, with a focus on the interplay between silence and assessment.Some students are experienced by others or by themselves as silent. Perhaps, they are neither given, nor do they take, the space that is required for participation in a conversation. They remain silent even though the ongoing discussion wakens their reflections and thoughts, or even if they know the answer to questions asked. Merleau-Ponty emphasises, that there is something that exists beyond what is said, something which cannot be communicated verbally, which he calls a silent and implicit language. Since exams are mainly based on words, the silent dimensions of students’ knowledge and achievement may be neglected. Exams, written or verbally, thus run the risk of being limitations for fair assessment. To stop and think about silence can draw attention to the importance of listening to the silent and implicit language of students in different teaching situations, especially when it comes to assessment.