Assessment Planning

Assessment Planning in Line with QMS and Organisational Policies

All assessment instruments should be designed bearing specific policies and procedures in mind, such as:

• SAQA policies and procedures – available on their website: www.saqa.org.za
• SETA policies – available from the ETQA of each SETA or on the SETA’s website.
• The service provider’s in-house quality management system policies and procedures related to Programme design, Assessment design, RPL, Assessment practice, Learner Health and Safety, Learner support, Benchmarks for Competence, Protocols for communication, and Record keeping.
• Employer/Sectoral policies and procedures – related to benchmarks and standards for the specific employer or sector in which assessment takes place.

Each organisation will have a specific assessment policy which the assessor must use as guideline in terms of conduct and assessment process. This policy will stipulate such things as:

• Assessor conduct during assessment.
• Benchmark for competence.
• Number of allowed assessments per learner.
• Appeals procedures against the outcome of assessment.
• Re-assessment strategies.
• RPL strategies.

Lecturer Broadcast: Click here to view an explanation about assessment planning and why it must be in line with QMS and organisation policies.

Working with Existing Assessment Guides and Assessment Instruments

Many organisations and SETA’s have pre-designed assessment guides and assessment instruments. Assessment guides give guidance to the assessor in terms of compliance documentation, pre-set assessment plans and marking matrixes against assessment instruments.

It is important that as assessor, you work through such guides and instruments well in advance of the actual assessment to assist you in completing the assessment correctly and to ensure that you have verified the completeness of the instruments in terms of evidence collection and that you have judged the instruments against the principles of good assessment.

Assessment Resources

Preparing your assessment resources to meet the requirements of the assessment.

The aim of the assessment is gathering of evidence in a specific format and in a specific way. It is thus important to consider ahead of time what you, the learner and any other role-players in the assessment need to complete the assessment and that all these resources are on hand during the assessment.

Preparing your Assessment Resources to Ensure Fairness

To prevent any unfair situation, the assessor should ensure that all assessment instruments, stationary, venues, role-players, etc. are planned and organised. This will avoid a situation where the learner can feel disgruntled due to a disorganised process or an incorrect venue. Ensuring that the learner is aware of exactly what will be expected from him/her on the day of assessment and that the learner has agreed to the time and venue for assessment will assist the learner’s buy-in to the process.

Preparing your Assessment Resources to Ensure Safety

Safety of the learner is of utmost importance during assessment, especially where assessment might expose the learner to injury or exposure. Most organisations build in an Occupation Health and Safety compliance clause into their assessment policies and would expect the assessor to respond should injury or accidents occur during assessment. It is always a good idea to carry a basic first aid kit with you as assessor if there is even the slightest risk of injury or exposure.