Apprenticeship Assessment Planning
Apprenticeship assessment focuses on what and how an apprenticeship programme contributes to the development of learners' knowledge, skills and behaviours.
The purpose of an apprenticeship programme assessment plan is to facilitate continuous programme-level improvement. Programme assessment plans provide organisations with a clear understanding of how the apprenticeship programme is assessed. This means organisations will clearly understand what is being measured and when. It also sets out who will collect the data and how the results will be used.
From an OfSTED perspective, it also supports the setting out of the curriculum intent. Organisations can identify what learners are expected to know and be able to do and why.
Apprenticeship assessment plans will help organisations ensure that their learners are ready for endpoint assessment as they will have achieved the necessary standards.
Assessment plans clearly define the outcomes learners are expected to demonstrate as a result of the programme. Plans also show the alignment of course curricula to the stated programme outcomes, describe how the outcomes will be assessed and outline how results will be used.
Assessment plans are used to know if learners are developing the knowledge and skills expected as part of the standard. Assessment activities will show organisations what is working well and what needs improvement.
What is Apprenticeship Assessment Planning?
An assessment plan needs to have knowledge, skills and behaviour standards. This is what learners are expected to know and be able to do by the end of the programme.
Organisations then need to consider the assessment strategy to determine how learners are meeting the learning and skills expectations.
It is then necessary to identify how these expectations will be measured. Each outcome needs to have one or more measures. In the measure, organisations will need to state the intent, the what and the why. They need to identify what evidence will be used and the target or benchmark.
Once a programme has been delivered, staff will need to review the evidence and understand what it means. It also gives them the opportunity to analyse the curriculum impact.
Once a plan has been reviewed, findings must be added and improvement actions identified.
Ultimately, apprenticeship assessment plans should be used to ensure that you deliver well-planned programmes that ensure learners meet the standards. Assessment plans should give staff, employers and learners the confidence that the skills, knowledge and behaviour requirements are being planned for and met.