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1. Purposes of Assessment

Assessment can be useful before, during, and after training. It serves many purposes.

Before (Diagnostic)
Assessment can:
  • guide what learning is required by individuals or groups of learners--placement within a curriculum;
  • allow learners to skip training on topics for which they demonstrate skill or prior knowledge;
  • used to establish learning needs for planning what to  train;
  • establish a baseline to demonstrate gains in knowledge and skill after training.
During (Formative)
Assessment can:
  • help learners and teachers monitor progress;
  • provide important opportunities for practice and feedback that increase learning;
  • address misconceptions and errors before they become ingrained;
  • increase motivation by building confidence through incremental success, as opposed to assessment only at completion.

After (Summative)
Assessment can:
  • demonstrate successful achievement of learning outcomes;
  • help guide students who are prepared to new learning opportunities;
  • demonstrate readiness to enter a job by contributing to qualifications;
  • in the form of competency assessment, demonstrate adequate skill to fulfill a job responsibility.
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