Overview
Introduced in 2023, the Digital Functional Skills Qualification (DFSQ) sits alongside Essential Digital Skills as part of the government’s plan to improve digital skills for adult learners.
DFSQ is increasingly seen as a key qualification for adults looking to improve their employment opportunities. It is also used in apprenticeships to ensure learners are up to speed with digital skills when taking certain courses.
While funding is available, resits have to be covered at the expense of the learner or provider. With stretched budgets now the norm, it goes without saying that passing the Digital Functional Skills exam first time is beneficial for all concerned.
What does good assessment look like?
To achieve better first-time pass rates, further education providers will need to look towards digital solutions that drive learner engagement. The ideal solution will be accessible on any device, giving busy adult learners and apprentices the chance to practice in their free time.
The solution should be easy to use and intuitive, requiring minimal time to set up. It should provide clear explanations and examples, stretching and challenging the learner where appropriate. It should give each student a learning experience tailored towards their specific needs.
The ideal solution should also mean efficiencies for the tutor. It should alleviate the burden of administration, make it easy to produce and evidence progress reports for funding and inspection bodies, and give the tutor a clear view on learner attainment.
Assessment and Learning
Used widely in further education, Assessment and Learning (also known as bksb) is a tried-and- tested digital solution made to improve pass rates in Digital Functional Skills, Functional Skills, Essential Digital Skills, and GCSE. It is part of the OneAdvanced Education portfolio.
For the learner
Assessment and Learning is highly intuitive and user friendly, with an attractive student dashboard that is easy to navigate. The system takes very little time to learn, and can be used on any device, whether a laptop, desktop PC, tablet computer, or mobile phone.
The learner takes an initial diagnostic assessment, giving them a clear understanding of areas of strength and weakness. They then move to the Learner Resources section, which uses adaptive AI to constantly recalibrate attainment levels. This gives the student a bespoke Individual Learning Plan, with questions designed to consolidate and stretch.
The resources section presents the learner with 5 modules covering important digital skills, including creating and editing presentations, communication at work, and staying safe from phishing attempts and cyber-attacks. At the end of each module, learners take a progress check, which performs a summative assessment and creates an updated Individual Learning Plan.
Finally, the learner can take exam practice, with past paper questions from all the main awarding bodies. This gives them the chance to get used to the content-type and wording of the end-point exam in a no-pressure environment.
For the Tutor
Assessment and Learning saves time for the tutor in the provision of training, with teacher and learner dashboards that are easy to pick up and use. Further time is saved when it comes to admin – learning resources and exam practice are all self-marking.
With precise attainment levels, the tutor can see exactly where a student sits within each module. The tutor can also see how the group is performing as whole, meaning areas of need can be addressed as a class. With full screen video examples, resources can be played on in-class monitors – a useful revision exercise for general areas of weakness.
Further, the solution provides evidence of learner progression for Ofsted and funding bodies, and makes it easy to compile reports for board members and other stakeholders. Learner data can even be integrated with other commonly used digital solutions, including LMS and ILP from OneAdvanced.
Summary
Assessment and Learning is a highly effective digital solution for the practice and assessment of Digital Functional Skills. Learners are able to access real-world practice questions on any device, and gain a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. For tutors, the solution greatly reduces manual input, offers granular-level detail on each learner, and provides clear evidence on learner progression for inspection and funding.
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