Purposes of Assessment used in the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET)

In the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET), we talk about five different types of assessments that you should think about in the teaching cycle. Assessments should be used throughout training to determine whether you are learning. If you don’t assess your learners, you won’t know if they’ve learnt anything, let alone their progress towards the end goal whether this is getting a qualification, completing a job induction, or even preparing for a promotion. The idea is to determine your current levels of knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviours, and competence.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training Initial Assessments

Firstly, start with initial assessments, before you start any course including the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET), you should take an initial assessment to determine any learning needs, or particular learning requirements. This might simply be your capability to complete a programme, you might need advanced English language skills to complete a qualification or simply to identify that perhaps you have a learning disability like dyslexia and therefore you’ll need extra support. Many learning disabilities are not even known to the individual so initial assessments are a useful exercise to help prepare the learner for the course. Remember, all learning plans need a starting point, and the initial assessment is it.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training Diagnostic assessments

Diagnostic assessments are carried out at any time to diagnose any gaps in learning, or any learning or learner needs. When I teach the Level 3 Award in Education and Training, I stop after each interval to recap the content via a quiz to identify progress. There are many ways you can do this include interviews, learner feedbacks, mind maps or performance task. The diagnostic assessments should be planned throughout your course.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training Holistic assessment

Holistic assessment is about planning your assessments to cover many different aspects at the same time. So for example, you may combine similar elements of qualifications into one assessment as it will save time for you as a teacher and save time for the learners. In the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET), we use holistic assessments with the Microteach session where we can sign off multiple learners in one go. So one learner completes their Microteach, their peers will review that session and then we have evidence for learners giving constructive feedback and another learner completing their Microteach. With that, the learner can self-reflect on their session and the tutor can ask outstanding questions from their portfolio to reduce the time and effort it takes to complete the assessment. First aid for example, you can combine the practical assessments of first aid and the recovery position by creating a scenario and assessing them both at the same time instead of having two different assessments for them.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training Formative assessment

Formative assessments are ongoing assessments through a course to determine progress. They are often informal so it may be asking questions throughout the day or it could be a mock exam determining readiness for an exam. At the end of the first day of my Level 3 Award in Education and Training courses, I always get the learners to plan and deliver a short icebreaker, the idea is to identify their readiness for planning and delivering their microteach session.

Level 3 Award in Education and Training Summative assessment

At the end of any training course, you should finish of with a summative assessment. The summative is usually formal and it is more for measuring achievement as opposed to progress and normally will allow the learner to get a certificate. It might be a test to get a GCSE, an assessment to get your first aid certificate or in the Level 3 Award in Education and Training there are multiple formative assessments to cover each unit. This would be your portfolio and your microteach session.

Different subjects will require different types of assessment. You will need to consider what type of assessment you need to use and why. You can then plan when, where, and how this will take place.