Programs-Based Assessment

Diagnostic Assessment

An assessment done prior to commencement of the learning programme to determine the learner placement level and assess learner’s prior learning status and ensure that learning assumed in place has been completed.

Formative Assessment

Activities drafted to build capacity and develop knowledge, skills and attitudes towards the outcomes stated by the program and its unit standard/s.

Self-Assessment

A form of diagnostic or formative assessment performed by the learner to determine their own level of progress and readiness to proceed with final summative assessment.

Peer Assessment

A form of diagnostic or formative assessment performed by other learners on the same learner level to help the learner to determine their own level of progress and readiness to proceed with final summative assessment.  Often a valuable tool for developing reflexive competence, as different learners might hail from different contexts.

Reflexive Assessment

Forms part of the summative assessment process and designed specifically to measure reflexive competence, i.e. whether the learner can adapt and apply their knowledge, skills and attitudes to alternative contexts.

Summative Assessment

The assessment tool applied once the learner has indicated that they are ready to be assessed in order to measure the learner’s competence against all the outcomes specified by the learning programme and its associated outcomes.

Integrated Assessment

Applying different assessment tools and methodologies in order to ensure that foundational, practical and reflexive competence is measured effectively.

Continuous Assessment

Progressive assessment formats that take place periodically throughout a learning programme and that measure competence continuously over the duration of the programme rather than in one lump sum at the end of the learning programme.  One of the cornerstones of outcomes-based assessment.