Whether it is a certification in paddlesports, a qualification in teaching, or some other credential, there should be information to support the individuals pursuing them and those who are assessing the outcome. Most of these come in the form of documents, and they can be lengthy. The intention of the documents are to ensure that the individual pursuing the credential is explicitly aware of the skills and knowledge that will be assessed. The person that is acting as the assessor uses these documents, and other methods, to ensure that the assessment is transparent, fair, valid, and authentic.

The skills and knowledge that are to be assessed are generally presented as a list of criteria. They may include a level of quality to be attained, which is usually referred to as a standard. Here are more detailed definitions that are revised from the posted article:

• A criterion is a characteristic or domain of an area (i.e. positive interpersonal skills of a paddlesports instructor) that provide a focus for judgement. By itself, a criterion does not offer insight to the level of quality.

• A standard is a specified level of achievement to be attained. This provides parameters on the level of quality.

Without a defined level of quality, the assessor relies solely on their judgement of an individual's knowledge or ability to perform the criteria. When criteria include standards, the level of quality to be attained is clear to both the assessor and the individual. The assessor then judges the knowledge and performance of the individual to the standard. This improves fairness, validity, and transparency in the assessment process.

Edglossary and UCDavis SLOA contain definitions and explanations of other assessment and educational terminology.

BRIEF TEXT TO EXPLAIN/REFERENCE PATHWAYS IN ACA

BRIEF TEXT TO EXPLAIN/REFERENCE PATHWAYS IN BRITISH CANOEING