How assessments are adapted in the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET)

Where possible, you will need to adapt assessment methods to meet individual learning needs and you may be limited within the Level 3 Award in Education and Training as you must follow the awarding organisations requirements however for formative assessments, there is nothing to prevent you from adapting assessments. The goal here is to make life easier for your learner and to help them overcome barriers to achievement. And when I say barriers, its things that may prevent achievement like time, money, learning difficulties, finance, motivation and learning styles.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training formative assessment

If we remember that formative assessment is ongoing to check progress and summative is to determine whether the learner meets the learning criteria, the methods used will depend upon what you are assessing and where and these will be influenced if you are assessing in vocational skills or academic knowledge. If you are working towards an accredited programme like the Level 3 Award in Education and Training, the assessment methods are usually stated in the qualification specification and will often include activities such as essays. If none are provided, you will have to create activities based upon the requirements of the programme to determine that the learners have the required knowledge for certification.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training reasonable adjustments

If you are unsure, you should always consult your awarding body to check what can and can’t do as you may need approval to make any reasonable adjustments. But here are ways that we can meet our learners needs in the Level 3 Award in Education and Training. We can adapt our resources and equipment for a learner who is partially sighted. We can adapt the environment for a learner who is physically disabled or move to a venue that gas better access. We can allow extra time for a learner who has dyslexia. We might want to use another language such as British Sign Language with a learner who is partially deaf. CITB for CSCS cards change the language of the tests for non-English speaking learners to help them with the assessments.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training changing times

Other things we can do include changing the date or time of the assessment for a learner who has childcare, or those that work shifts, we could also move venues, so learners don’t incur parking costs or transportation fees. Working in London is a good example where you are likely to start after 10am to allow you to get on the cheaper rail fare and not to travel during rush hour. We could provide different assessment activities to cater for different learning styles so a good example would be to use a role play or demonstration for kinaesthetic learners. We could also use new and emerging technologies to help improve confidence with computer skills. The one positive that the pandemic has given us is that it has shifted training and education to an online platform which has benefitted many learners on the Level 3 Award in Education and Training as you can study virtually or via distance learning which is useful for those with other commitments.

The key is to determine what needs to be assessed and which assessment methods may benefit different learners to help them achieve. Just check that these reasonable adjustments area allowed with your awarding body as it could invalidate the results.