EmployNZ utilises assessments that support learning and provide robust evidence that knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and beliefs have been achieved to the required level and are meaningful to the learner.
During your programme of study, you will acquire knowledge and skills as your tutor guides you though and facilitates the curriculum. Assessment of your skills and knowledge may be completed during your training towards a standard (Formative Assessment) or at the end of your training towards a standard (Summative assessment). Each standard is set by industry experts and describes what a student needs to know, or what they must be able to achieve, in order to meet the standard. Having met the standard, you will gain credits towards national qualifications which will be recorded on your NZQA Record of Learning.
An Assessor (who may or may not be your tutor) is responsible for outlining the assessment process, your rights during the induction process before assessment and collecting and judging evidence of your competence against the standards that make up the content of your programme.
Evidence to support these assessments may be gathered in the following ways:
Naturally occurring – where evidence is derived from activities within a learning programme and/or from a learner’s actual work performance and/or everyday life. Naturally occurring evidence is collected from a range of real contexts and obtained over a period of time.
Simulated – If it is impractical to do so or due to a workplace policy a learner may be assessed against a standard via them demonstrating what they know and can do via a simulation set up by the assessor.
In a workplace – evidence is obtained in the workplace under normal workplace conditions. In this situation an attestation or observation is signed off by an approved observer or workplace supervisor.
Portfolios: You will be required to put together a portfolio of evidence and submit it to your assessor for grading.
Using EmployNZ generated or commercially sourced assessments your Assessor will ascertain your grade. Your grade will depend on the type of standard being assessed:
For Unit Standards you will be assessed as Achieved (A) for meeting the criteria of the standard, meaning that you are deemed as being capable of carrying out knowledge or skill-based tasks in a repeatable and consistent manner, or Not Achieved (N) if you have not met the criteria of the standard.
For Achievement Standards you will be assessed as Not Achieved (N) if you do not meet the criteria of the standard, Achieved (A) for a satisfactory performance, Achieved with Merit (M) for very good performance and Achieved with Excellence (E) for outstanding performance.
Irrespective of your grade your assessor will provide you with feedback including on areas that need more learning in the event that you need to be re-assessed because you have not achieved the standard. EmployNZ encourages learners who are found to have not achieved for a particular assessment task to be reassessed. If you are not sure of what is required, then please do not hesitate to ask your tutor or Assessor.
Literacy and Numeracy Assessment
If you are a Youth Guarantee (YG), Student Achievement Component (SAC), Training for Work (TFW), Employment Placement Service (EPS) or Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ILN) learner you will be assessed for literacy and numeracy abilities and needs using the online Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool in accordance with Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) requirements.