A FISA for the qualification focuses on the extent to which a learner can demonstrate applied competence. Applied competence, in terms of the NQF is evidenced through learner’s ability to integrate concepts, ideas and actions in authentic, real-life contexts and is expressed as practical, foundational and reflexive competence.

1. Final
Integrated
Summative
Assessment
Dr Linda Meyer
Presentation for the
SABPP

2. Background to the Final
Integrated Summative
Assessment
Current vs. QCTO requirements,
Historic Experience & Context,
SETAs, Professional Bodies /
Statutory Bodies (EAAB - PDE)
Future, Provider vs. Assessment
Quality Partners (AQP)
requirements.

3. SABPP – FISA
 FISA Requirement -contained in the
SABPP ETQA Assessment And
Moderation Policy.
 “In the case of full HR.
qualifications (including HR.
Learnerships), the assessment cycle
also includes a Final Integrated
Summative Assessment (FISA)
against the exit level outcomes of
the HR. qualification”.

4. Occupational Qualifications
 Occupational qualifications are a
feature of the revised NQF and are
designed to address skills needs in
the labour market.
 They will replace legacy
occupational qualifications such as
those for the trades and work-
focused unit standards-based
qualifications.

5. Assessment is defined as..
A structured process for gathering
evidence and making judgments
about an individual’s performance in
relation to registered national
standards and qualifications (SAQA,
2001: 16).

6. Assessments
• Formative • Summative • A form of
assessment is assessment is used to assessment
“assessment that make a “judgement which permits
takes place about [learner] the learner to
during the process achievement” that is demonstrate
of learning and used at a particular applied
teaching”, with the point (usually at the competence
purpose of end) of a learning and which uses
supporting programme to a range of
learning. (SAQA, measure progress in formative and
2001: 26) terms of the requirements summative
of national standards assessment
and qualifications so that methods. NSB
credits can be awarded. Regulations (SA,
(SAQA, 2001: 26)
1998:4)
Formative Summative Integrated

7. Integrated Assessment:
 Integrated assessment is meaningful if there
are clear relationships between the
purpose statement, exit level outcomes
and integrated assessment of this
Qualification.
 In addition to the competence assessed to
achieve the Unit Standards:
 learners must demonstrate that they can
achieve the outcomes in an integrated
manner.

8. Integrated Assessment
… should [assess] the ability to
combine key foundational, practical
and reflexive competence with some
critical cross-field outcomes and
apply these in a practical context
for a defined purpose. The context
should be relevant to real life
application (SAQA/CIDA, 2003: 62).

9. Guidelines for Integrated
Assessment
 Assessment approaches must confirm a
learner’s ability to integrate knowledge.
 Assessments must focus on a learners’
ability to demonstrate applied
knowledge (applied competence).
 According to the NQF - evidence of
applied competence is the learners’
ability to integrate concepts, ideas and
actions in authentic, real-life contexts.

10. Guidelines for Integrated
Assessment
 Assessing a number of outcomes
together;
 Assessing a number of assessment criteria
together;
 Assessing a number of unit standards
together;
 Using a combination of assessment
methods and instruments for an
outcome/outcomes;

11. Guidelines for Integrated
Assessment
 Collecting naturally occurring
evidence (such as in a workplace
setting);
 Acquiring evidence from other
sources such as supervisor’s reports,
testimonials, portfolios of work
previously done, logbooks,
journals, etc. (SAQA, 2001: 55).

12. Guidelines for Integrated
Assessment
 Integrated assessment should offer
an opportunity to demonstrate the
depth and breadth of learning at
all stages and in a variety of ways
throughout the learning
programme.
 Assessments are important moments
in the course of learning
programmes.

13. Guidelines for Integrated
Assessment
 “However, educators should guard
against over-assessment where each
outcome “(or worse, each assessment
criterion) [is assessed separately
resulting in] hundreds of little fragmented
meaningless assessments of the check-
list type, taking up valuable learner and
educator time without anything of value
being learnt” (LGWSETA, 2004: 13).

14. Under the QCTO system ..
 Key quality assurance processes are
articulated as:
 Monitoring and support of learner
progress during programme
implementation ; and
 Final integrated summative
assessment of learners for
occupational competence.

15. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
The FISA refers to the process of
making judgments about
achievement on a
qualification/learnership.
This is carried out when a learner is
ready to be assessed at the end of a
learnership or full qualification.
The FISA must be set by a constituent
assessor and moderated by a
constituent moderator.

16. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
FISA should not weigh more than
continuous assessment of
providers,
The objective for the FISA is to
confirm the standard across
providers and across qualifications
- STANDARDISATION

17. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
Database of sample assessment
instruments & tasks are included,
Examples of good integrated
assessments are combined,
Formats are designed for recording
evidence e.g. templates, log-
books.

18. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
A FISA for the qualification focuses on
the extent to which a learner can
demonstrate applied competence.
Applied competence, in terms of the
NQF is evidenced through learner’s
ability to integrate concepts, ideas
and actions in authentic, real-life
contexts and is expressed as
practical, foundational and reflexive
competence.

19. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
 Practical competence - demonstrated
ability to perform a set of tasks and actions
in authentic contexts;
 Foundational competence - demonstrated
understanding of what we are doing and
why we are doing it;
 Reflexive competence - demonstrated
ability to integrate our performances with
our understanding so that we are able to
adapt to changed circumstances and
explain the reason behind these
adaptations.

20. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
 More than one FISA instrument should be
developed.
 The moderator must ensure that the
assessment instrument is aligned with the
purpose and rationale of the qualification
and that it complies with the applicable
SAQA level descriptor.
 Draft assessment instruments must fall
within the ambit and in accordance with
the guideline document.
 Blooms and SAQA level descriptors
considered.

21. Bloom’s Taxonomy
 1. Knowledge: remembering of previously learned
material; recall (facts or whole theories); bringing to
mind.
 Terms: defines, describes, identifies, lists, matches,
names.
 2. Comprehension: grasping the meaning of
material; interpreting (explaining or summarizing);
predicting outcome and effects (estimating future
trends).
 Terms: convert, defend, distinguish, estimate,
explain, generalize, rewrite.
 3. Application: ability to use learned material in a
new situation; apply rules, laws, methods, theories.
 Terms: changes, computes, demonstrates,
operates, shows, uses, solves.

22. Bloom’s Taxonomy
 4. Analysis questions (taking apart the known)
a. use - graph, survey, diagram, chart,
questionnaire, report....
b. observed behavior - classify, categorize, dissect,
advertise, survey.
 5. Synthesis (putting things together in another
way)
a. use - article, radio show, video, puppet show,
inventions, poetry, short story...
b. observed behavior - combine, invent, compose,
hypothesis, create, produce, write.
 6. Evaluation (judging outcomes)
a. use - letters, group with discussion panel, court
trial, survey, self-evaluation, value, allusions...
b. observed behavior - judge, debate, evaluating,
editorialize, recommend.

23. Design FISA
 FISA Instrument is aligned;
 Multiple versions;
 Security;
 Fit for Purpose (Blooms, Level descriptors
ect).
 Technical specifications;
 Validity, Authentic, Current, Reliable and
Sufficient ;

24. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
 The Moderator must ensure that the FISA
instrument is aligned with the purpose and
rationale of the qualification, and that it
complies with the applicable SAQA level
descriptor.
 The FISA must be of such a length that a
well-prepared learner will be able to answer
it comfortably within the time allocated,
with reasonable time remaining for revision.

25. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
 Standard of the paper (validity, reliability and
fairness)
 Questions of various types e.g. Multiple Choice;
Questions, Case studies, paragraphs, data
response, essay, etc;
 Questions from which candidates are to choose –
are they of equal difficulty level;
 Correct distribution in terms of cognitive levels
(Bloom’s Taxonomy);
 Overall: how does the standard of the assessment
instrument compare in relation to other
qualifications/s assessment instruments and previous
assessment instruments.

26. Final Integrated Summative
Assessment
 Intellectually challenging and
allowing for creative responses from
candidates;
 Suitability of examples and
illustrations;
 Relationship between weighting
allocation, degree of difficulty and
time allocation;

27. Technical Criteria
 Cover page with all relevant
details such as time, unit
standards and instructions to
candidates
 Clarity of instructions to
candidates
 Lay out: learner friendly
 Correct numbering

28. Technical Criteria
 Mark/weighting allocation
clearly indicated;
 Quality of illustrations, graphs,
tables etc must be print ready
 Complete memorandum with
model answers with :
 Mark/weight allocation and
provision for alternatives

29. Registered Unit Standards and
Qualifications
 Relevance to registered
Qualification, i.e. unit standards,
specific outcomes, assessment
criteria
 Levels of questions
 Coverage of unit standards
 Weighting and spread of
contents

30. Conceptual construct
example
 What conceptual constructs - The
assessment instrument must deal
with:
e.g. – reasoning ability
 ability to communicate
 ability to translate from verbal to
symbolic
 ability to compare and contrast
 ability to see causal relationship
 ability to express an argument clearly

31. Cognitive skills
 Are these constructs representative of
the best and latest developments in the
training of this knowledge field?
 Are the questions challenging and
allowing for creative responses from
candidates?
 Suggested application of cognitive
levels for an NQF Level 4 qualification is:
 10% knowledge
 20% comprehension
 40% application
 30% analysis, synthesis, evaluation

32. Language and bias
 Correct terminology;
 Appropriate language register – for the
level of the learner;
 Avoidance of gender, race, cultural,
provincial bias;
 Clear and unambiguous specification
of instructions within questions e.g. list,
describe;

33. Moderation
 Is there evidence that the paper
has been moderated?
 Quality, standard and relevance
of input from moderator.

34. Alignment Grid
 The availability of an alignment grid
showing the alignment of the
instrument with the purpose,
rational, assessment criteria and
NQF level descriptor of the
qualification.
 Focus on ELO’s

35. Overall impression
 Fairness of the assessment instrument as
whole,
 Will the assessment instrument as a
whole assess the achievement of the
purpose of the qualification and the
exit level outcomes,
 Recommendations for improvement,
 Monitoring and Review.

36. FISA construct example:
 Knowledge Assessment;
 PoE (completed by the learner);
 Workplace based project;
 Expert Practitioner Panel interview
and presentation;
 Focus on Work Integrated Learning
Practice.

37. Thank you
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