Taqa Unit 301 Essay

|The initial assessment pin-points the learners individual needs. This can lead to additional support being

Assessment plays a significant role in the learning experience of students. It determines their progression through their programmes and enables them to demonstrate that they have achieved the intended learning outcomes. It is assessment that provides the main basis for public recognition of achievement, through the awarding of qualifications and/or credit.

During the initial assessment, the assessor must introduce themselves to the learner and ensure that they understand what the course is.

The assessment strategy should state how the subject should be assessed, and subsequent results recorded. It should also state the experience, professional development and qualifications that assessors should hold. Quality assurance requirements, for example internal and external verification or moderation, will also be stated. Organisation may also have an assessment policy which an assessor should familiarise him/herself with.

• Failing to meet the requirements of any relevant assessment strategy if assessing a qualification

The assessor’s role is to judge whether the evidence from the learner meets the criteria for the relevant units being assessed and that the evidence is Fair, Valid and Reliable.

There is a large variety of assessment methods available for assessing learners’ achievements. These include observation; questioning the learner; examining product evidence; discussion; witness testimony; looking at learner statements; recognising prior learning; simulated environment; skills tests; oral and written examinations; assignments; case studies and projects. Choosing the most appropriate assessment methods is vitally important, to help and support the learner and to ensure the job of the assessor is as straightforward, reliable and problem-free as possible.

Assessors need to determine a learner's knowledge and performance against a set of pre-defined criteria. These criteria may be set up to assess learning for an eventual formal qualification in a particular topic or job role.

1. External quality control of assessment - The monitoring and standardisation of assessment decisions will be achieved by a robust and strong external quality assurance process.

The function of assessment in learning and development is to provide a measurable way of planning and supporting students’ progress. Assessment is carried out by means of checks and tests carried out throughout the course. Assessors should provide feedback throughout ensuring that learning is occurring and the learner is at the correct level. It is also important that assessor’s decisions are also consistently reviewed and internally and externally verified.

Initial and diagnostic assessment can often assist the teacher in deciding on the most appropriate teaching method to use in order to meet the needs of the individual learner. An initial assessment could indicate that a learner requires additional support for a number of reasons.

* This is to determine if the delivery and assessment meets the requirements of the standards or assessment criteria , the whole assessment process needs to be accutat, consistate, safe and meets all organisation requirements.

There are many types of assessment, formative, summative, informal. How do you determine if a

This unit is centre assessed and externally verified. Your assessor will use a range of assessment methods which may include:        observation of performance in the work environment examination work products questioning the learner discussing with the learner use of others (witness testimony) looking at learner statements recognising prior learning

Validity is an overarching term referring to the accuracy and appropriateness of the specific uses of assessment information, its soundness and fairness of the assessments interpretations and the consequences of how the assessment information is used (Miller, Linn & Gronlund, 2009). Validity cannot be measured on an absolute scale (Darr, 2005). Thus it is measured by a matter of degree (high, medium and low), the higher the stakes of the assessment the higher the validity needed in the assessment. The validity of an assessment, is always considered in relation to the intended purpose or use of the assessment evidence. To justify the adequacy and appropriateness of the interpretations and uses of the assessment Darr (2005) states that 4 major unitary aspects need to be considered – content, construct, criterion, and consequential – in order to make an overall evaluative judgement. Content consideration is concerned with the link between the assessment content and the particular learning intentions of the topic, unit or focus of learning. Construct considerations focus on how well the assessment tasks represent the relevant skill or skills being assessed for example, comprehension and problem solving. Criterion considerations focus on the correlation of the way different tasks, with the same conditions of success, are used to judge the students abilities. Consequential considerations are aimed at figuring out the effects of the assessment and the decisions made based