Understanding The Principles And Practices Of Assessment

1. Explain the functions of assessment in learning and development In learning and development there are many functions that can be followed by the learning cycle.
Firstly you need to know the learners preferred learning style to be able to promote their learning. There are many different learning styles such as Honey & Mumford, VAK. VAK:- Visual, learners learn better through visual methods and being shown demonstrations. Auditory, when the learner learns better when given an instruction and being told what to do. Kinaesthetic, these learners learn better through hands on activities. Honey & Mumford:-

Honey & Mumford got four learning outcomes, Activist, Reflector, Pragmatist and Theorist. Activists are very open minded and enthusiastic about doing new this, they are always looking for something new to do next. They involve themselves fully and tackle any problems after they activity. A reflector likes to stand back, collect data and observe other people, they postpone their conclusions for as long as possible. Theorists like to think their problems through step by step and in a logical way as they like to be perfectionist and tend not to rest is it is not done in a tidy way. Pragmatists are keen and positive people and are full of new ideas. They like to put the idea into practice to see if they ideas and theories work this make them impatient people. The learner can also complete a personal development plan during supervision or appraisals with their manager. When finding out the individual learning outcome you would plan, deliver and assess based around their preferred learning. 2. Define the key concept and principles of assessment

When assessing there are many points that you have to follow step by step in order to deliver the assessment correctly. Here is the assessment cycle:-

When assessing the most important stage is planning. At this stage you will identify the type of information used in the evidence that the learner has given you to complete the unit. When the leaner goes off to complete their work they should be able to use this plan as guidance when assessor is absent. When the learner has attending their appointment with the assessor and handed them work this is where the assessor assesses their work and gives them feedback. The plan should be reviewed regularly to make sure that the comments reflect back on the evidence gathered by the learner. It is to be made sure that the learner had full involvement when writing up the plan and review and should both agree on the evidence gathered to meet the criteria. 3. Explain the responsibilities of the assessor

First of all it is to be made sure that you do not compare learner to one another because some learner learn in different way and at different paces. The responsibilities for the assessor is making sure that they concentrate on the needs of the standards. When you meet up with the learner and they have given you their evidence on a unit that was set, the assessor is to make sure and check that the evidence that is given is correct in order to meet the standards. Once you have checked through the evidence, you then have to ensure that you give them feedback on the piece of work that they produced. Then you will write up a review where you will write about the learners achievement and what you are planning to do next. When doing this the assessor must make sure that the learner has full involvement with the comment and agrees with what you are saying. You must use different assessment methods to show the reliability of the evidence shown. The assessor should also guide the candidate towards success, observe their performance, and keep a record of their achievement. If there are any concerns that have been picked upon in the evidence then the assessor must report it back to the internal verifier. You must make sure that you complete all relevant assessment forms. 4. Identify the regulations and requirements

Compare the strengths and limitations of a range of assessment methods with reference to the need of individual learners 5. Compare the strengths and limitations of a range of assessment methods with reference to the need of individual learners Each unit may use many descriptive words such as show, explain, describe and demonstrate. By these words it will help you make a decision on what sort of method you will use to gather evidence for the unit. There are many different types of assessment method to chose from but you must make sure they are suitable to the learner and the unit in question. The most obvious and easiest method is written questions, this is where you will be given questions to answer based on the unit. You will only be able to answer the questions that begin with explain and describe. For the questions that begin with show or demonstrate you could use many other methods to gather the evidence:- Observations and recording

Observations is the most popular method. An observation is when the learner is being assessed by what they are doing in their work place. The observations must be planned. Before the observation takes place the assessor and the learner would have discussed what is going to be observed, where it is going to be observed and the link it will have with the unit. During the observations the assessor will write down what they have seen or heard the learner doing. The assessor will then go back and type the observation up and make a record of it and link it to the standard in order to use it as a piece of evidence. Professional discussion

A professional discussion will involve the learner and the assessor. The discussion would have been planed days/weeks ahead. A professional discussion is used to support written answers and when it is stated in the standards. Professional discussion has many benefits such as, if the candidate struggles with written questions then the assessor could use this type of method in order the gather evidence to complete a unit. This method also takes up less time, and holds less paper work. The assessor will agree on the areas of standards that will be met and record down what has happened during the discussion. When recording it the assessor uses a ‘professional discussion record’ and it should be filled in during the discussion not after. Witness Testimony

The witness has to be someone like the manager, senior colleague or the supervisor because these people will know if the candidate is meeting the requirements for the job and if they are performing well. When planning you should look at who the candidate comes in contact with the most during their working day, so that they are there all the time to support the candidate and not just say they are doing well when that is not the case. Once the witness has be identified it is then the assessors responsibility to talk to them so that they know the basics about the NVQ and what they need to identify in the candidate. This type of method is not very reliable.

Understand how to plan assessment
6. Summarise key factors to consider when planning assessment Planning can be a weak area of the assessment process. The planning stage is the key stage in the assessment process. When planning and identifying what types of evidence that is going to be used to complete a unit you must ensure that the candidate has full involvement so that they are aware of what is expected of them. Before you start you planning it is a good idea that you talk to you candidate about what the goals are what they would like to achieve, by doing this it will help you plan how to support them achieving the qualification. As I have wrote about above, there are many different assessment methods available to the candidate. To ensure that the candidate selects the appropriate method to gather their evidence, the assessments must be planned and scheduled to when it will support their evidence to complete a unit.

Good planning will help the assessor meet the candidates needs and get to understand the best way to support them through their training. The planning will ensure that the evidence collected is valid and reliable. When a unit has been completed it is important to review the candidate on the progress that they have made. By reviewing the candidate it allows them reflect back on what they have achieved. 7. Evaluate the benefits of using a holistic approach to assessment Holistic approach involves the assessor and candidate looking and deciding on events that are happening in the work place and thinking how it could relate to the units when gathering evidence. When working in holistic manner it means that the evidence is gathered from real work situations rather than making something up or making something happen in order to complete a unit. Assessing holistically lets observations to be comprehensive as it means that the assessor is looking at the whole picture of what the candidate is doing. 8. Explain how to plan a holistic approach to assessment.

The assessor could take some responsibility by structuring and collecting evidence through observing the candidate and ask them questions. 9. Summarise the types of risks that may be involved in assessment in own area of responsibility 10. Explain how to minimise risk through the planning process. Understand how to involve learners and others in assessment 11. Explain the important of involving the learner and others in the assessment process During the assessment process it is very important that the candidate has full involvement. When involving the candidate it allows them to make judgements about themselves and their work. The assessor should involve the candidate when choosing what unit they want to complete and what method they could use.

The candidate should be able to ask any questions to the assessor about the criteria if they don’t fully understand. During the planning process the candidate should have full involvement as they should be able to agree on what evidence is needed to meet the criteria in the standards. Giving the candidate feedback should also involve them, they need to know what they are doing well and be praised for doing it and what they need to improve on. 12. Summarise types of information that should be made available to learner and others involved in the assessment process 13. Explain how peer and self-assessment can be used effectively to promote learner involvement and personal responsibility in the assessment of learner 14. Explain how assessment arrangements can be adapted to meet the needs of individual learners Understand how to make assessment decisions

15. Explain how to judge whether evidence is:
a) sufficient
When a candidate hands in their piece of evidence, the assessor must make the decision if it’s: * Valid-to the standard and qualification
* Authentic-candidate own work
* Current-now and up to date
* Sufficient-enough to meet the standard

Assessor needs to understand and know how much evidence is needed to relate and meet the requirement of the standard. To know if the evidence is sufficient the candidates evidence should meet the standard criteria. It should be covered in the planning what is needed of the candidates evidence for it to be sufficient b) current

When judging if the evidence is current, the assessor will be looking at your current skill, knowledge and attitude when the candidate is demonstrating their level of competence, this is to ensure that the evidence relates to standards. c) authentic

The candidate must be able to explain what they have put into their evidence, so it is important that they only submit evidence that is related to their own performance of work. 16. Explain how to ensure that assessment decisions are:

a) made against specified criteria

Understand quality assurance of the assessment process
17. Evaluate the importance of quality assurance process
QA (quality assurance) is a resolving process that will take place throught the learner qualification. Quality assurance is the key part in all qualifications. Quality assurance is to ensure that all standards are delivered correctly to be able to meet the requirements set out by the organisation. Quality assurance process:

Here are the techniques to QA:
* observation of assessment and teaching
* learner interview
* employer interviews
* 121 observation
* sampling portfolios and units
* formative sampling of evidence, portfolios, units
* summative sampling of portfolio, evidence, units, assignment 18. Summarise quality assurance and standardisation procedures in own area of practice Standardisation also plays a big part in the assessment and QA process, it has many practices and procedures are that are there in order to make sure that the teaching, assessment and delivery is all carried out to a high standard. If the assessor follows these procedure it mean that the candidate is having fair treatment and provides a true measure of candidate competence. 19. Summarise the procedures to follow when there are disputes concerning assessment in own area of practice The assessors will have many observations that gives the QA the opportunity to check is the procedures are being followed. If there are any concerns or issues that come to light while doing this must be shared in meeting. Sometimes it is appropriate discussing issues on an individual basis with assessors if the assessors performance or individual candidate behaviour is causing a problem.