Cambridge Assessment was formed in 1858 (as the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate) by the University of Cambridge. Over the years the organisation has evolved and been supplemented by fine institutions such as the RSA Examinations Board and the Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations among others. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. We are a department of the University of Cambridge and a not-for-profit organisation. The Cambridge Assessment Group incorporates three major exam boards: University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL). In the UK, OCR is the only public examination board that is affiliated to a university. Cambridge Assessment owns one oil painting: a portrait of George Forrest Browne, who was Secretary of the Local Examinations Syndicate from 1869–1892.

The offices of Cambridge Assessment are not open to the public.