Assessment of students' learning and achievement requires active involvement of participating students, preceptors and lecturers. The lecturers have overall responsibility for both the content of the assessment and students' learning. The aim of the present study was to investigate lecturers' reflections on the mid-course discussion and final assessment that are part of nursing students' clinical practice education. The design was descriptive and had a qualitative approach. Repeated group discussions were undertaken with 14 lecturers at two university campuses in Norway. Five categories were identified: preparing for the three-part discussion, creating a collaborative atmosphere, facilitating student learning, verifying student learning, using the assessment tool to create the assessment discussion; one theme emerged: ‘being able to see and justify students’ learning processes'. Lecturers' reflections on both assessment discussions and students' learning proceeded from a clear pedagogical viewpoint.