Chapter 7

Assessment and
Moderation in Learning
and Development

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 OVERVIEW
1. Legislative and theoretical foundation
2. Psychology of learning
3. Conducting a learning and
development needs assessment
4. Learning program design
5. E-Learning
6. Delivering learning and development
interventions
7. Assessment and moderation in
learning and development 2
 Chapter 7: Outcomes

• Explain the purposes of assessment and moderation in the

context of outcomes-based T&D in the workplace
• Identify the various role players in the assessment process
• Discuss the various different types of assessment and their uses
in the assessment process
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various assessment
methods and instruments
• Discuss the various steps in the assessment process
• Explain the functions and purposes of the assessment plan and
assessment guide
• Explain the requirements for assessors
• Explain the purpose of moderation in assessment 3
 What is an Assessment

• Is a process that a qualifed and registered assessor follows to

collect evidence of a leaners learning achievements.
• A data gathering strategy for measuring knowledge, skills,
behavior or performance, values and attitudes.
• Assessors use the data gained from the assessments of
collected evidence to make informed judgements about the
leaners competence and learning achievements
• The contents of assessments is informed by its purpose: a
systematic method of gathering information regarding the
desired knowledge, skills and values.
• The scope of any assessment covers the programs curriculum 4
 Purposes of an Assessment
• The main purpose of assessment is to measure learning
outcomes
• Additional purposes are
1.to improve learning facilitation,
2.the curriculum,
3.learning design and conditions for learning
• Assessment is also used to encourage learners through the
feedback they receive.
• Learners need the feedback that assessment provides:
information about their learning and further development,
information about their understanding, and information about
their accomplishments
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 Role players in Assessment

• Assessor
• Learner/candidate
• Moderator
• Designers and developers
• Witness or independent assessor
• Workplace supervisor or manager

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 Assessors’ competences

• Subject matter expertise

• Have evaluative expertise
• Understand the type of assessment that are appropriate to their
feld and to the hQNF level being assessed
• Know the curricular
• Consider the rights and special needs of leaners
• Ensure the leaners know what is expected of them
• Treat leaners with respect and sensitivity
• Keep up with new developments in the feld
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 Rights and special needs of Leaners

The assessor should consider all rights and special needs of all learners if
the assessment is to be fair, reliable, and sufcient.
Section 6 of SA Constitution states of 11 languages
Section 29 of the Bill of Rights deals with language of instruction

Learners should know:

How the assessment process works
Leaners may withhold past results
Learners have the right to an impartial observer
Learners have the right to appeal the assessment decision and should
know the procedure to follow if they wish to appeal
Learners have the right to an interpreter, where appropriate
Leaners must know what qualifcation the assessment will lead to and
should know how to further their learning on completion of the 8

qualifcation
Types of assessment

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 Formative assessment

A range of formal, non-formal, and informal ongoing assessment

•A form of engaging learners in the learning process
•F ormative assessment helps learners to improve their
performance, maximize their learning, and refect on and improve
their own learning
•F ormative assessments help L&D professionals to make
decisions about the learner’s readiness to do a summative
assessment
•F ormative assessment has a teaching, coaching, and
development function

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 Summative assessment
A summative is usually a formal assessment to evaluate a leaners
achievement of learning outcomes towards the certifcation of
learning that has already taken place and the extent to which this
learning has been successful.
They are usually conducted at the end of a learning program, a set
of outcomes, or a unit standard within the learning program to
evaluate learning related to a particular qualifcation, part
qualifcation, or professional designation.
A summative assessment can be done only when:
•The assessor and learners agree that they are ready for the
assessment.
•The assessor and learners have decided whether they are doing a
summative or a formative assessment
•The learners know when and where the assessment will be held.
•The learners are informed that the results will be formally 11

recorded or reported.
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Continuation

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 Summative assessment
ASSESSMENT FOR RPL
•Assessment for RPL involves evaluating the prior knowledge and skills
of a person for the purpose of guiding the learner towards alternative
access and admission, recognition and certifcation, or further learning
and development
INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
•This is a holistic set of assessment tasks (diagnostic, formative,
dynamic, summative) needed for a qualifcation, part qualifcation or
professional designation
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
•a post-assessment activity that is included in the assessment process
to ensure the quality of the overall process
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
•Portfolios provide evidence of a learner’s knowledge, skills, attitudes
and academic development; they can be assessed through formative
and summative assessment 14
 Assessment methods and
instruments

• Assessment methods are tools that an assessor uses to gather

evidence of a candidate’s performance.
• Assessment activities are the actual activities the learner is
supposed to perform when following a particular assessment
method.
• Assessment instruments are designed to make the assessor’s
use of assessment methods more practical, consistent and
efective

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 Assessment methods and
instruments
ASSEMENT METHOD POSSIBLE ASSESSMENT
INSTRUMENT

Assignments Assignment sheet and rubric

Case studies Printed case studies and qstns based

on case study

Written exams or tests Exam papers, answer sheet,

memorandum

Multiple choice questions Multiple choice questions and answers

Oral exams QNstns and possible answers,

assessment criteria, rating scale

Role plays Clear instructions and outcomes to be

achieved

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Practical demonstrations List of expected activities
 RECOGNITION TO PRIOR LEARNING

Recognition of prior learning also referred to as RPL, is the formal

acknowledgement of a person’s current skills and knowledge
you’ve gained through work and life experiences. It is the process
through which your skills, knowledge and experience can be
converted into nationally recognised qualifcations.

Being awarded qualifcations through RPL means that you don’t

have to study what you already know. Instead, you provide
evidence that you already have the knowledge and skills that
studying the qualifcation would give you. RPL can be granted for
part of a qualifcation (in which case a Statement of Attainment
might be issued to list the Units of Competency that were
awarded) or for a full qualifcation often shortening the time
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needed to gain a qualifcation.
 RPL is important for the following
reasons

1. It ensures that people’s skills and knowledge are current

2. It redress the historical disadvantages, such as the exclusion of
people from education, training, and empowerment
3. It enhances the development of individuals
4. It facilitates access to jobs and progression in career paths
5. It assists recognition in terms of grading and salary
6. It assists planning through skills audits
7. It promotes employment equity

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 Assessment Process
Planning the assessment
•If the assessor’s planning is not adequate, the
assessment process will not achieve its goals.
•Assessors must be familiar with the skills programme
and the learning outcomes against which learners will be
assessed.
Preparing the learner for assessment
•When assessors have planned and prepared the
assessment process, the relevant role players must be
informed of the assessment. The most important role
player is the learner.

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Conducting assessment
Assessment is a structured process of gathering
evidence about learners’ achievements in relation
to specific learning outcomes. This evidence is
used to make assessment decisions about the
learners’ competence. The collection of evidence
is the main focus of the assessment process.

Gathering and documenting evidence

Gathering evidence is a crucial part of the
assessment process. Assessment evidence can be
defined as evidence collected from workplace
performance, supplemented by other
performance 20
Evaluating evidence and making assessment judgments
When the evidence has been gathered and documented, assessors need
to judge learners’ competence. This judgment is based on an evaluation
of the evidence. Assessors are expected to evaluate the evidence against
each assessment criterion.

Providing feedback to the relevant parties

Assessment is considered to be a learning tool, because it provides
learners with continuous feedback on their performance. Assessors are
required to provide written and oral feedback to the learner and other
role players

Reviewing the assessment process

Assessors are required to review the assessment process. They do this by
identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the process to improve
future assessments.

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Moderation of assessment

Moderation in an assessment means internal and

external verification that an assessment system is
credible, that assessors and learners have in an ethical
way, and that assessments are fair, valid, reliable, and
practical.

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Moderation and verification involve:

•Monitoring the conduct of assessment;

•Evaluating assessment design, instruments, and methods;
•Sampling candidate evidence to verify assessment
decisions;
•Assuring quality of the assessment and moderation system
and procedures;
•Supporting and advising assessors;
•Keeping verification and assessment records up to date; a
•Providing information for analysis by the assessment
center and ETQA

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According to SAQA, the following needs to be
considered when establishing a moderation system:

•Management structure
•Functions of the moderation system
•Components of the moderation system
 Timing
 Extent
 Materials
 Personnel
Methods
Moderation tool

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THE END

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