The purpose of assessment

Outcomes-based assessment is relevant to all fields and is not limited to education, training and development.

There are various reasons for assessment, namely:

 to select and recruit learners for a job,
 to monitor individual performance,
 to determine training needs,
 to assess skills and knowledge,
 to recognise prior learning,
 to assess training programmes,
 to assess the progress of learners on a training programme, and
 to assess a candidate’s competence.

Different assessment methods will be used as appropriate to each situation.

Types of evidence:

 Products of the learner’s work.
 Evidence of the way the learner carried out activities.
 Formal tests.
 Informal questioning.

The basic principles of outcomes-based assessment

 It is based on national standards or specific outcomes
 Learning outcomes are assessed.
 The assessment practice needs to be relevant to the specific outcomes.
 Assessment must be valid, fair, authentic and consistent.

It is important that appropriate assessment methods are selected. Assessment methods have to be:

 suitable to the performance being assessed,
 fair, and should not inhibit or interfere with performance,
 integrated with work or learning,
 manageable in terms of available resources,
 cost-effective, and
 sufficient and efficient.

This assessment approach is also applicable across disciplines and departments.

Evidence

The evidence collected has to prove competency and therefore has to be:

• valid and fit for purpose,

• direct and collected from activities during actual performance

• authentic, so that the evidence judged can be attributed to the person being assessed,

• sufficient to establish that all assessment criteria have been met, and that performance to the required standard could be repeated with consistency.

Require evidence of

 Knowledge

 Process

 Product