The Principles to Guide Foundation Skills Assessment provide good practice guidance to support a nationally consistent approach to assessing prospective learners’ foundation skills prior to enrolment in training.
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The principles are designed to be used flexibly across a range of settings including adult and community education (ACE) and vocational education and training (VET) settings and can be applied to different types of foundation skills assessments, including identifying learners’ foundation skills capabilities, suitability for training, and support needs.
The principles do not replace existing pre-training assessment processes or regulatory requirements. They provide a shared framework, supported by practical guidance and examples, to strengthen foundation skills assessment and support positive learner outcomes and flexibility at a local level.
The 5 principles that support effective, high-quality foundation skills assessment are:
- Learner-centred: the assessment is learner-centred, designed to accommodate the diversity of learner needs and foster a positive experience.
- Valid: the assessment accurately measures learners’ foundation skills and support needs.
- Fair: the assessment provides all learners with an equal opportunity, regardless of their background, to demonstrate their foundation skills.
- Conducted by skilled assessors: the assessment is undertaken by appropriately skilled assessors, who have relevant qualifications, experience and knowledge for the context in which they are assessing.
- Reliable: the assessment produces consistent results over time and across different groups of learners.
The principles are supported by explanatory information and practice examples for each principle to help assessors apply them in practice. They can be used to support assessors to:
- design assessment processes that are accessible, inclusive and responsive to learner needs
- select appropriate assessment methods that accurately identify learners' foundation skills capabilities and support needs
- create positive assessment experiences that build learner confidence and encourage participation
- make fair, valid and reliable assessment decisions that are appropriate to the training context
- communicate outcomes clearly and connect learners with appropriate support and training pathways
- apply culturally responsive practices that recognise and respect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of learners.
Principles to Guide Foundation Skills Assessment
The Principles to Guide Foundation Skills Assessment, developed under the National Foundation Skills Strategy 2025–2035, provide good practice guidance to support a nationally consistent approach to assessing prospective learners’ foundation skills prior to enrolment in training.
