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