How is Vocational Education and Training Assessed? CREU reviews European policy and practice in report

In Northern Ireland the debate around skills and rebalancing the economy has been the focus of policy over an extended period of time, leading to the publication of a series of significant policy papers by the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) including Success Through Skills – Transforming Futures (2011) and Structured to Deliver Success (2015).  More recently in 2021 the Department for the Economy (DfE)’s 10x Economy vision reminds us of the importance of drawing upon our rich heritage of business innovation and entrepreneurialism to recover, rebuild and rebound the Northern Ireland economy as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic and embark on an ambitious ‘decade of innovation’. This vision highlights the importance of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the central role of Northern Ireland’s FE sector working in partnership with schools, employers and the HE sector in addressing a significant skills deficit in key areas.  Within this VET context, consideration of the relative merits of various assessment methods has been limited with a recognised need for greater consideration of policy developments beyond Northern Ireland.

A recent research report published by CREU (2022), The Assessment of Vocational Education and Training Qualifications: a review of European policy and practice, responds to that need and aims to assess policy developments in vocational education and training across the four jurisdictions of the UK, but also across Europe, to provide understanding and insight into assessment methodologies used for vocational qualifications and their perceived value.

The review addresses the following areas: different types of assessment and differences in how they are used in vocational qualifications (both levels and products); international best practice for assessment in vocational qualifications; views on the attractiveness and value of each assessment type; benefits or challenges of particular assessment types on progression and preparedness for higher education; views on the value or usefulness of different assessment types to determine occupational competence; and views on the usefulness of different assessment methods to meet employer need and provide confidence in vocational qualifications.

This review of research and policy highlights a range of key areas of debate: the role of BTECs in widening access; the tension between widening access and educational attainment in HE; the relative equivalence of BTECs and A-Levels; barriers to recruitment and retention of BTEC students in HE; the role of, and challenges for, universities in facilitating the entry and retention of students; comparative student performance in HE; the tensions between vocational and academic qualification pathways; and employment outcomes. The current educational landscape in England is also marked by the recent introduction of T Levels alongside A-Levels.

At assessment level the policy debate has addressed the relative merits of the BTEC assessment system; advocates defending the ‘older style’ BTEC system in terms of the reliability of internal assessment, progression and employability; critics viewing BTECs as over-valued, in need of re-evaluation, and requiring external assessment to both counter grade inflation, and ensure equivalence with A levels.

Comparisons are drawn from leading European VET models such as the dual-track VET approach found in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and the Basque Country, and other school-based models evident across the rest of the UK, Ireland and Finland.

While much can be learnt from our European neighbours, significant questions remain around the transferability of particular models which tend to reflect the particular national and/or local conditions in different regions or countries.  The review highlights both the complexity of the assessment and policy landscape locally, nationally and internationally, and also the need for much more extensive research in this often overlooked educational arena.

Read the full report here.