Assessment Exemplar for Higher National Unit

Employment Experience 2

Assessment Exemplar for Higher National Unit

Employment Experience 2

(2nd Draft)

1st edition: xxxx 2001

Price: xxxx

Publication code: xxxx

Published by the Scottish Qualifications Authority

Hanover House, 24 Douglas Street, Glasgow, G2 7NQ,

and Ironmills Road, Dalkeith, Midlothian EH22 1LE

The information in this publication may be reproduced to support SQA qualifications. If it is reproduced, SQA should be clearly acknowledged as the source. If it is to be used for any other purpose, then written permission must be obtained from the Publications Manager at SQA. It must not be reproduced for trade or commercial purposes.

Contents

Introduction

How to generate evidence

Assessment Exemplars

Suggested solutions and marking guidelines

Reassessment

Assessment checklist

1Introduction

This pack must be used in conjunction with a copy of the Unit specification which details the standard of performance expected of the candidate. A copy of the Unit specification can be obtained from SQA. This pack should also be used in conjunction with the Guidelines on the Assessment and Delivery of the Units: Employment Experience 1 and Employment Experience 2. These too, can be obtained from SQA.

This pack supplements the assessment guidelines and support notes of the Unit specification. It aims to provide an example of assessment that is valid, reliable and practicable. The assessment exemplar task(s) detailed in this pack correspond to the assessment guidelines outlined in the Unit specification.

The example provided is intended for guidance only. It may be used in a variety of ways including, for example:

to exemplify the standard of performance expected of candidates achieving the Unit, ie as a benchmark
to help you develop your own assessment for the Unit
to help you develop valid and practicable assessments for other Units within the subject area of the group award to which it contributes
to give you new ideas
as a staff development tool

It is important that you make sure that the assessment exemplar is used in a context appropriate to the delivery of the Unit and to the course of which it forms a part. It is also very important that you note that using this exemplar assessment does not automatically guarantee successful external moderation. It is still your responsibility to make sure that all the appropriate internal quality assurance procedures are satisfactorily completed. For example, a valid, effective and approved internal moderation system must be in use at your centre.

Other related Units

This Unit is part of the framework of a number of Higher National (HN) group awards.
It does, however, stand alone and does not form part of a sequence of related Units.

Core Skills

Where core skills have been embedded in a Unit specification and an assessor wishes to use an alternative method of assessment, s/he must ensure that the assessment generates the evidence requirements specified in the Unit specification. It is recommended that the centre seek prior moderation for the alternative method to ensure that the core skill is still covered. The Unit specification will detail the core skills covered within the Unit.

The core skill of Working with Others at Higher is embedded in this Unit.

2How to generate evidence

Introduction

The Scottish Qualifications Authority’s system of assessment measures the evidence of a candidate’s attainment of knowledge, understanding and skills against defined criteria. The assessment process must allow for evidence of each candidate’s performance to be generated and collected. This evidence must then be judged against the standards set out in the Unit specification. To achieve the Unit the candidate must successfully meet the standards and there must be evidence to prove this.

The Unit specification defines the criteria you need to use to judge whether or not the candidate has met the standards. All HN Units have the following:

Outcomes

These tell you what the candidate actually has to do.

Knowledge and/or skills

This section details the essential knowledge and skills which the candidate must attain in order to achieve each Outcome, combination of Outcomes or for the Unit as a whole.

Evidence requirements

Evidence requirements can be written for each Outcome, for a combination of Outcomes, or for the Unit as a whole. There is no standard format for writing evidence requirements. Provided that they state clearly and unambiguously the type, standard and amount of evidence which candidates have to produce in order to be judged competent, the evidence requirements can be written in the format which will be most easily understood by users of the Unit. Note: The national standard of achievement expected, which was previously specified as performance criteria, is now stated in the evidence requirements.

Where it is not possible to cover all the items listed under knowledge and/or skills through holistic assessment, sampling can be used as a method of gaining additional evidence. Sampling may also sometimes be an appropriate method of assessing very knowledge-based Units. This type of assessment must always be carried out in supervised conditions.

Where sampling is used, the evidence requirements must clearly state:

the standard of evidence required for each knowledge and/or skills item so that satisfactory performance can be judged whichever items are sampled on any one occasion
the proportion of knowledge and/or skills which can be sampled
whether any item(s) must be included in each assessment, ie if it is crucial to the achievement of the Outcome(s) or to an embedded core skill
the fact that a different sample should be chosen on each assessment occasion to prevent candidates being able to foresee what they will be asked

the conditions of assessment.

Assessment Guidelines

This section should give guidance on how best to conduct the assessment to generate the evidence required, eg recommending the use of a particular assessment instrument. It should include guidance on how to integrate the assessment of the whole Outcome or, if appropriate, how to link assessment holistically with other Outcomes in the Unit. Like evidence requirements, assessment guidelines can be written for each Outcome, a combination of Outcomes, or for the Unit as a whole.

It is important to realise that it is up to the assessor to judge when and if the candidate has satisfactorily met the standards. This decision should be based on the quality and correct quantity of evidence collected, set against the standards in the Unit.

The assessment instrument in this pack should not create any unnecessary barriers to achievement for open/distance learning delivery or candidates with special needs. However , you may need to adapt it so that you can assess candidates with special needs or candidates who are undertaking the Unit on an open/distance learning basis. Obviously, whilst taking into account the needs of the candidate concerned, the methods of assessment you choose must still be valid, reliable and practicable. If you have any questions or problems or if you are in any doubt as to whether or not the alternative assessment you have chosen is still valid, please contact the Helpdesk at the Scottish Qualifications Authority on tel: 0141 242 2214.

3Assessment exemplars

Assessment Tasks

The table below summarises how each exemplar assessment task relates to coverage of the Outcomes detailed in the Unit specification. It also indicates the evidence which should be retained for external moderation.

Outcome / Suggested Task / Suggested Evidence to be retained
1, 2 and 3 / Assessment Task 1
(this is divided into three parts, each of which matches an Outcome in the Unit specification) / Candidates are required to present their evidence in a single portfolio.
ALL candidates’ evidence should be retained.

Conditions of Assessment

The responsibility for completing the assessment rests with the candidate. S/he is required to set aside time in which to complete the assessment tasks. There is no requirement that candidates be supervised when completing assessment work.
The assessment for the Unit is based on the analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation of a workplace task which the candidate undertakes in co-operation with others. Although not directly a condition of assessment, it is a condition of the Unit specification that the candidate is in employment and has the support and co-operation of his/her employer in carrying out this task.
Assessment Task / 1
Outcomes(s) Covered / 1, 2 and 3

Assessment Task Instructions

Assessment Task 1: Part 1

This is the first part of your assessment. It covers the analysis and planning stage of your group task. You should complete the questions below. Once you have done this you should add your work to your portfolio.

1.Complete the Task Summary Sheet for your workplace task. A blank copy of this is attached – see page 11.

2.Write a report to explain your own contribution to the analysis and planning of the workplace task which you have undertaken. You should give your report a heading “Analysing and planning the workplace task” and it should contain the following sections.

Section 1: SMART Objectives – in this section, you should explain in 30 – 70 words how the objective set out in the Task Summary Sheet (see page 11) meet the SMART criteria, ie it is specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.

Section 2: Customers – in this section, you should state who the customers for your task are and how the task meets their needs. You should write 30 – 60 words on this.

Section 3: Goal Negotiation – here you should explain the process by which your group negotiated the objective among group members and with customers. You should explain your part in this process. Your should write 50 – 100 words for this section.

Section 4: Schedule or Plan for the Task – this section is about the schedule or plan that your group has drawn up for the tasks. You should describe your contribution to drawing up the schedule. You should also briefly explain how the schedule will ensure that all components of the task will be completed and that the task objective will be met. You should also say how the schedule will allow all group members to make a contribution.

50 – 100 words are required here. You are likely to find this section easier to write if you include a plan or schedule in your evidence for this part of the assessment (see item 5 below).

Section 5: Negotiating Roles of Group Membersand Rules for the Management of the Group – this section covers the way in which group members negotiated the roles that each would play in the group and how rules of management for the group were negotiated. You should describe your contribution to the process of:

Agreeing responsibilities for the various tasks which the group will have to undertake
Negotiating roles within the group
Negotiating the rules by which the group will be managed.

You should also explain how the negotiating process resulted in agreement on roles which will make sure that all aspects of the task will be completed successfully. You should also say why you think the allocation of roles to individual group members is appropriate. In addition, you should explain why the rules of management negotiated by the group should ensure that the group will function effectively and will meet its objective. 120 – 180 words are required here.

3.Obtain confirmation that your personal report in part 2 above is a true record of what took place. You can use the attached “Witness Testimony 1: Analysis and Planning” form for this purpose – see page 12. It should be signed by someone at your work who knows what your contribution to the analysis and planning of the task has been.

4.Gather some documentation to support the statements in your personal report. There is no need to produce documents especially for this. You should use material which is actually part of the work involved in analysing and planning the task. You should aim to include two to five separate items. You should number each item of evidence and list them on the attached sheet headed “List of Evidence” – see page 13. You should indicate by a ‘P’ in the third column that the evidence refers to the analysis and planning stage. You should keep your evidence and the “List of Evidence” (page 13) together, eg by putting them all in a loose leaf pocket, using a paper clip. The choice of what information to include is up to you. The following list gives some ideas on the kind of things you might include:

a schedule for the task, (eg a Gantt chart, milestones)
action points or minutes from meetings of your group
memos, e-mails, letters, eg between members of the group; to or from customers; to or from managers
work plans or schedules
material produced by the group, eg a list of members and what they have agreed to do.

There is no need to collect a lot of evidence. All you need is evidence to prove that you have worked with others to analyse and plan the task and that you have been involved in role and rules negotiation.

TASK SUMMARY SHEET
Brief description of the task
Specific objective of the task
Others involved
Possible components of the task
Role of candidate
Workplace Mentor

WITNESS TESTIMONY 1: ANALYSIS AND PLANNING

I confirm that the personal report prepared by:

(name of candidate)

employed by:

(name of employer)

is a true record of the contribution made by the candidate to working with others as a group in the analysis and planning of a workplace task.

I confirm also that:

the documentary evidence provided by the candidate in support of the personal report is genuine
I have full knowledge of the contribution made by the candidate to working with others in this situation

(signature of witness)
(name of witness)
(position in the organisation)
(name of organisation)

LIST OF EVIDENCE

Number of
item / Brief Description of Item / Relevant Stage of Task
(enter P, I or O)

Assessment Task 1: Part 2

This is the second part of your assessment. It covers the implementation stage of your group task. You should complete the questions below. Once you have done this, you should add your work to your portfolio.

1.Write a report to explain your own contribution to the implementation of the workplace task which you have undertaken. You should give your report a heading “Implementing the Workplace Task” and it should contain the following sections.

Section 1: Informing others – in this section, you should describe what you did during the implementation of the task to:

find out who might be affected by the task and tell them about the effects in good time
keep other members of the group informed about the progress you made and about any problems that you encountered.

You should write 100 – 120 words here.

Section 2: Decisions – in this section, you should describe how you made an effective contribution to the decisions made by the group on the implementation of the task. You should write 80 – 120 words on this.

Section 3: Organisational and legal requirements – when implementing your plan, your group should make sure that it is in line with any legal or organisational requirements like health and safety. In this section, you should describe how you made sure that your contribution did meet organisational and legal requirements. 40 – 70 words are required here.

2.Obtain confirmation that your personal report in part 1 above is a true record of what took place. You can use the attached “Witness Testimony 2: Implementation” form for this purpose – see page 16. It should be signed by someone at your work who knows what your contribution to the implementation of the task has been.

3.Gather some documentation to support the statements in your personal report. There is no need to produce documents especially for this. You should use material which is actually part of the work involved in implementation of the task. You should aim to include two to five separate items. You should number each item of evidence and list them on the “List of Evidence” sheet which you used for your evidence on Analysis and Planning – see page 13. However, for this evidence, you should indicate by an ‘I’ in the third column that the evidence refers to the implementation stage. You can use the same items of evidence for both the analysis and planning, and implementation if you wish. If you do, you should label those items of evidence both ‘P’ and ‘I’.

You should keep your evidence and the “List of Evidence” together, eg by putting them all in a loose leaf pocket, using a paper clip. The choice of what information to include is up to you. The following list gives some ideas on the kind of things you might include for the implementation stage of the task:

an implementation plan for the task, (eg a Gantt chart, milestones)
work plans or schedules
action points or minutes from meetings of your group
memos, e-mails, letters, eg ones that you have sent to other people such as managers to other members of the group
work in progress dockets
printouts of output, etc

There is no need to collect a lot of evidence. All you need is evidence to prove that you have worked with others to implement the task.

Assessment Exemplar for Higher National Unit

Recommended Reading

Other related Units