About forms

Rev. Oct. 11

Minimums

• The very minimum requirement for each unit or unit cluster is an assessment form for every student. You can include up to a whole qualification in one form if all units are assessed at the same time and you also have a document stating exactly what was assessed, e.g. a list of projects, .
• You can include a whole class on one form but it is only a working record. You will later need to make a separate form for each student with an original signature. This is because students are allowed to view the contents of their file then so, as a privacy issue, you must ensure that students cannot view the assessment results of other class members on the form.
• Fill in the whole form for each student and submit them all on time.

Keeping forms under review

You will find that many forms on the website are written to comply with specific policies or laws, based on suggested improvements, or (sometimes) to cover you and ACAS legally.

Your forms should normally be an adaptation of  the latest version available over the ACAS website. But you would normally at least add your branch college name and logo, and adapt the layout to maintain your member college look.

Keep forms continually be under review. Review the forms you use at the beginning of each unit or unit cluster. You may need to generate modified versions to suit individual needs and/or according to review results. Each new version of each form needs a version number and should follow the up-to-date template.

Good general suggestions may suit all assessment forms and be posted on the website or through email for use in all new forms.

About assessment forms and instruments

As a minimum requirement, an assessment form is a checklist of all the skills or tasks being assessed in that unit, so that the assessor may mark against each item as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory and show whether the student is assess as competent or not yet competent for the unit(s) assessed. The form also includes space for comments, signature, and appropriate identifying information.

The form might be very simple, containing only:

• name of assessor
• name of student
• date
• name and code number of the unit
• result
• basis for result
• the identification of anything in which the student did not demonstrate competence and an explanation of the nature of the deficiency,
• feedback to the student
• signature

You also need to keep other records as assessment instruments, usually a set of specific instructions for practical tasks or projects, and a set of questions for the interview. If you use ACAS website materials, these are usually provided for you.

Other kinds of things can include:

• specific instructions for exercises or simulations
• workbooks that contain lists of instructions
• logbooks
• forms for getting references
• marking guides
• descriptions of competent performance
• test papers and the students’ scripts.
• descriptive statements of the student’s development (e.g. strengths and limitations).

Assessment instruments and other records

Although Assessment Forms don’t always need every possible information item, all the following are also possible:

• the identities of persons other than the assessor who contribute expertise to the assessment and their relevant credentials,
• size of the assessment group
• time and place of the assessment
• assessment method and the nature of evidence assessed
• description of procedures needed to ensure that evidence is valid, authentic, sufficient, fair and reliable
• how opportunities to gather evidence were identified as part of workplace or training activities
• how agreement was sought with the student(s) being assessed
• how appropriate personnel were consulted
• the recording procedure
• outcomes and assessment criteria
• what assessment tools were used (including instructions or materials)
• any adjustments made for context
• the signature joint assessors (if applicable)
• record of any result disputed by the student, and,
• a box for writing in review notes on the assessment
• a detailed record of any other factors that specifically affect the assessment result.

 In particular, you may need other instruments for portfolios, knowledge tests, etc. Again, it is the idea of leaving a very strong paper trail.

Knowledge may be assessed through oral questioning and recorded on the assessment form. However, it may be listed in a separate form, as the assessor normally decides what is adequate documentation to be accountable for decisions, especially if an assessment result is disputed. Where practical, recording underpinning knowledge may be concurrent with the demonstration of skills.

Campus programs that teach and assess whole classes cannot easily manage a separate form for each student. It works better to have a single form for a whole class, and have a single line for each student. However, each student’s file will later need a separate copy with either an original signature or certified as a true copy. Students are allowed to view the contents of their file then so, as a privacy issue, you must ensure that students cannot view the assessment results of other class members on the form.