Principles of assessment in lifelong learning

by iainjubbs (student)

University Degree Education and Teaching

Unit 9

The types of assessment in lifelong learning are:

Diagnostic assessment: This is to assess past learning and is often used to assess the standards of students before work starts

Formative assessment: This is an ongoing assessment to see how learners have taken in information and can be conducted as homework, quizzes or informal discussions.

Summative assessment: The concluding assessment to a period of teaching such as A’ levels or GSCE’s

Taking the above there are for’s and against’s in all the above methods such as the exam environment can put dread into people whilst others revel in it. Many learners are more practical than exam orientated and as such would be better at doing an oral assessment or practical assessment. Some people are very good at remembering whilst others cant retain information over a long period but doesn’t mean they will be a bad learner. Finally the educator assessment which is vital to maintain standards can be a stress on the educator who is already under time and work pressures.

At the Priory Trust which delivers apprenticeships in the workplace, we have a BSA assessment that is carried out on initial enrolment of a learner and identifies any weaknesses in the learners maths/English abilities and could identify whether enrolement on the qualification, or referral to another company to increase maths/English abilities is the correct route. I also discuss their job role to ensure the learner is able to meet the criteria of the qualification.

The formative work is done over a period of aprox 12 months and is a period when assessment is done by workbooks, discussions, observations and ...

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The formative work is done over a period of aprox 12 months and is a period when assessment is done by workbooks, discussions, observations and witness statements to collate information that will cover the units the learner is doing. If during that time more learning is required then this is identified by the leaner, TA or mentor.

The summarative work is carried out by an internal verifier who checks the TA’s work and then at certain times an external verifier from the awarding body will check the files that learners and the training provider have created Another area of summarative work is the functional skills tests which are done as an exam paper.

It is essential that records are kept of learning because

It shows a record of the learners progression and is a good referral tool for the student to recap and see how progression has been made.
It is a record of referral for the educator to keep a track of how the learner has done
Finally in case of breakdown between the educator and student it allows an external body to come in and pick up from the last entry.

‘Records are useful and important to all tutors in helping plan, monitor and review learners progress’ (Tummons, 2009)

The requirements in our organization at the Priory Trust for keeping records are that they are kept in a locked room for a minimum of 3 years. They have no external windows and the records are themselves in a locked file that is secured to the wall. After 3 years they must be shredded.

In my other role as an ESR coach we have many types of assessment. These start with the initial assessment which depending on ability can be as simple as throwing a ball and catching to playing a warm up game to identify areas that can be improved.

Moving on from this we have a book that is stamped when learners reach certain goals in their development and is normally aimed at the 6-14 age group or those with learning difficulties. For the more experienced player the formative stage would be moving the coaching onto the game situation with the final summarative area being that the learner is applying the lessons learnt into a winning environment

Ref

Ref http://www.hampshirecs.org.uk/upload/files/assessment__record_keeping_policy.pdf