Measuring Student Progress

Students should be assessed both on their knowledge acquiredand on their skill competence.

Assessment of Knowledge

Assessment may be achieved in relation to the knowledge element of the course by oral questioning, short-answer or multiple-choice questions, or by essay questions. Multiple-choice questions, especially where a bank of questions has been developed for a variety of sections of the course content, provides a quick method of assessing specific areas of knowledge in a short space of time. When blocks of these questions are used together, they can provide a very efficient and objective assessment of a broad spectrum of the knowledge content. The language structure of this type of testing must be suited to the students' ability level and the fact that such tests can be re-administered means that the teacher can quickly assess progress achieved since the last testing on the same area(s).

Completion type questions can be used to encourage the students to develop research skills, particularly where these are assigned in conjunction with texts or reference books in a classroom situation. They can also form the basis of a wide testing of material since the time devoted to any one specific question is relatively short.

Essay questions tend to suit an in-depth testing of the students' knowledge in specific areas and, because of the length of time required in answering one question, may restrict the breadth of the assessment. They do, however, provide the opportunity for creativity and flair in speeialised areas.

Assessment of Skills

Assessment of skills can be achieved by close observation of procedures adopted by students, paying particular attention to their observation of proper safety procedures. Some teachers may decide to compose an assessment of skills examination during the programme to assess the progress of the students and to provide feedback for remedial action. Clearly, the completed tasks provide ample scope for the assessment of skills as evidence by the design folder and the completed artefact. The criteria for such assessment should be communicated to the students when they are beginning the task, keeping in mind the weighting of the syllabus objectives and the extent to which this weighting can be applied to the design cycle stages.

A sample task assessment sheet is included in Appendix G. Teachers may find this useful or may wish to adapt it for their own particular requirements. The scheme consists of six areas for assessment with appropriate mark weightings as follows: