Function of assessment in the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA)

Setting the stage for assessmentin the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement

No matter what your industry you work in whether you are an assessor, a trainer or a manager, you need to know someone’s ability against pre-defined criteria at the beginning and the end of a programme to determine whether learning has taken place. In the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA), the purpose assessment is to measure whether a learner has met a required level of competence such as meeting the required skills, knowledge, attitudes and understanding. Assessment will take place at different stages depending on the programme and to check whether a learner meets a set of standards such as meeting the requirements of a qualification or to meet the requirements of a job description. Simply put, assessment is the process of finding out if learning has taken place and is the process of making a decision about competence against set criteria.  

5 Key functions in the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement

In the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) you will learn about five key functions of assessment, and these are: 

• Initial assessment. 
• Diagnostic assessment. 

• Holistic assessment. 
• Formative assessment; and  
• Summative assessment.  

Initial assessment in the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement

Before you complete a programme such as the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) or the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA), you should complete an initial assessment to identify any particular learning needs, learning requirements, any to determine any potential problems or issues that the learner may face. When our learners choose to complete the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA), they will be asked to complete an English and Maths assessment to determine whether they have the ability to meet the qualification requirements and also complete a VARK assessments to ensure that we can identify their preferred learning style. The main purpose is to determine how much support and guidance they will need to complete the qualification.  

We use a diagnostic assessment in conjunction with the initial assessment for Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) to diagnose any gaps in learning and to ensure they are on the right course. We ensure our learners complete a course consultation to ensure they have the recommended pre-requisites and motivations which allow us to determine whether the course is for them without them wasting time and money on a course which is not suitable. The initial and diagnostic assessment is part of our sign up and enrolment process.  

Holistic assessment in the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement

The purpose of holistic assessments is to speed up the process of the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) to ensure learners save time and don’t have to duplicate any assessment parts and for us to help with us, we discuss with each learner their current work experience including what they are currently doing within a classroom and workplace to see where we can look to combine parts of assessment to make it simpler. Learners that complete several courses with us such as the Level 3 Award in Education and Training and Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) are encouraged to combine their assessments to cover more assessment outcomes in one go. This is why it’s crucial that whichever training provider you sign up with, are able to offer you a personalised study guide so you can complete your assessments holistically.  

Formative assessments are assessments that take place throughout a programme. Formative assessments are designed to monitor progress. You don’t complete a training course without any form of formative assessment as your trainer or assessor needs to ensure you are ready for the final assessment and there is no way of knowing this without any formative assessment. A formative assessment can simply be asking a question to find out whether a learner has learnt a particular aspect. Formative assessments can be in any format, a wordsearch, a crossword, a quiz, absolutely anything as the sole purpose is to find out if learning is happening.  

Summative assessments on the other hand are typically the final assessment. The purpose of the summative assessment is to determine whether a learner is at a level to get their certificate or to meet the job specification. Normally summative assessments must follow the awarding bodies requirements.