Holistic Approach To Assessment

To plan a holistic approach to assessment the assessor could discuss with the learner their job role and within their job role what they carry out and what assessment units would be covered at the same time. For example, a learner may identify that an aspect of health and safety and an aspect on recording procedures from different units that can be assessed at the same time within one assessment period. In order for this to be successful this should be planned for and the assessor should know what skills overlap across units.
It would also be beneficial to discuss with the learner’s manager to see if they can identify any situations where the learner can achieved several components of units within one assessment. The manager will have further
The workload/caseload of the assessor can also pose a risk; if the workload becomes too large then effective and sufficient support and assessment will not be provided.
The location and proximity of both the learner and the assessor can also become a problem if the distance is large to ensure sufficient assessment and if the location of the learner is at times inaccessible to the assessor.
It is also important to consider the type of qualification being assessed and any changes to standards and qualifications that may occur, possibly during the qualification course, it is crucial that the assessor is up to date with the qualification objectives to ensure that they can support the learners to achieve the qualifications.
The types of assessment, the types of evidence and how the records are stored (manually or electronically) should also be taken into consideration, along with the reliability of witnesses and the authenticity of the learner’s
Firstly it is important that risk is minimised by not putting unnecessary stress on the learners by over- or under-assessing or by being unfair and putting too much stress on the learner. These risks can be minimised by communicating with the learner and working closely with them to ensure any fears they have can be dealt with. For example, if you have set a date to observe a learner demonstrate a certain skill without communicating with then they may not be ready to show this skill and would not achieve the criteria needed to pass. This may also lead to the learner becoming stressed and they may rush and not produce valid work and may become overwhelmed and in turn may decide to quit the qualification or the