This article aims to consolidate the field of the sociology of educational assessment, following the efforts made in this direction in the 1990s. Updating this field is crucial to better understand, among other things, the changes that have occurred in student learning assessment practices following the implementation of the new public management. We offer a literature review of 59 French-language texts maintaining close links with the field of the sociology of educational assessment. Our analysis highlights four categories of sociological issues arising from this literature: 1) the formative function of assessment and the progression of learning; 2) the assessment of an ability to act and the adaptation to complex contexts; 3) the external and standardized evaluation, and the production of measurable results; and 4) the assessment as the materialization of standards of excellence and the democratization of academic success. We conclude with the presentation of research perspectives that would favour the consolidation of this field.