Steps for creating a competency-based assessment

How do you create a competency-based assessment? How are these different from other assessment types? The following includes a step-by-step guide.

Steps to creating a competency-based assessment:

• Identify and state the competencies to be assessed
• Reframe these as training (or learning) outcomes
• Brainstorm the skills required to demonstrate competency
• Build assessment
• Identify how well the skills must be demonstrated to show competency
• Decide what evidence of competency is required and where this can be drawn from.

Identify and state the competencies to be assessed:

Using “improved communication for management or a team” as an example, the following process will show how to re-develop this as a competency-based assessment.

Reframe these as training (or learning) outcomes eg:

• identify the communication requirements of a management (or team) environment (knowledge)
• communicate confidently in a management (or team) environment (skills)

Brainstorm the skills required to demonstrate competency eg:

What specific skills and knowledge demonstrate confident communication within a management or team environment?

Build assessment

What assessment activities require the use of those specific skills?
What assessment activities will demonstrate the knowledge behind those skills?

How well must the specific skills be demonstrated to show competency?

Once the standard (or level) of competency is decided, then the assessor must decide where evidence of this can be drawn from. This process generally informs the type of assessment activities to be used.

View the PowerPoint on this step for some exemplars.