Assessment Terms / What does that mean?
Assessment |
In assessment, assessees (candidates for assessment) are assessed against performance criteria described in documents known as units of competency or competency standards. Competency Competencies are skills - things you can do - acquired through work experience, life experience, study or training. |
Competency (unit of) Competency standard |
The terms 'unit of competency' and 'competency standard' refer to the same thing: a document that describes the competencies (skills) expected of an individual in the workplace. Individuals can be assessed to achieve competencies that make up a qualification e.g. Certificate III in Children's Services.
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Element |
The building blocks that make up a unit of competency. They describe groups of tasks against which people are assessed. |
Evidence |
The underpinning knowledge and skills needed for the unit, providing guidelines for assessment Evidence is information which, when matched against performance criteria in a unit of competency, supports a judgment by an assessor that the assessee is competent or not yet competent. Evidence can take many forms. To find out more about evidence, including children's services examples, click here. |
Employability skills |
Employability Skills are skills that apply across a variety of jobs and life contexts. They are sometimes referred to as key skills, core skills, life skills, essential skills, key competencies, necessary skills, and transferable skills. Industry's preferred term is Employability Skills.
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Performance criteria |
For each element in a unit of competency, performance criteria describe the tasks against which people are assessed and the required level of performance |
Qualification |
A qualification can refer to two things.
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Range statement |
Guidelines on the different contexts in which competence may be demonstrated |
RCC and RPL |
Assessment against units of competency is often called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) or Recognition of Current Competency (RCC). RPL and RCC are other names for workplace assessment. The process is the same. |
RTO |
RTO means Registered Training Organisation. RTOs exist throughout Australia and are approved by state training authorities (such as the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training) to provide training and/or assessment services for VET qualifications, including children's services qualifications. To see the list of RTOs who are registered to deliver accredited training and assessment services for children's services qualification in the Northern Territory click here. |
Statement of Attainment |
A statement of attainment is a piece of paper given to assessee at the end of an assessment process, issued by a Registered Training Organisation. A statement of attainment lists the units of competency in which the assessee has been assessed as competent. A statement of attainment is issued instead of a qualification where the assessee has not completed all units of competency required for the qualification. Click here to see an example of a statement of attainment. |
Training Package |
A Training Package is a set of nationally endorsed competency standards, assessment guidelines and qualifications for a specific industry, in this case the children's services industry. |
Unit code |
The unit number indicates the industry and training package, e.g. CHCCS401B. |
Unit of Competency |
See Competency (Unit of) above. |
VET |
VET stands for Vocational Education and Training, which is Australia's national training system. Some people know it as 'TAFE'. |