Assessment of prior achievement/assessment of prior learning: Issues of assessment and accreditation

There has developed over the last few years a growing interest in the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) as a route to vocational qualifications. This is a system, supported by the major awarding bodies, whereby evidence of competence based on past experience and achievements is given credit towards qualifications. In a recent number of The Vocational Aspect of Education, Slusarchuk and Nicholl (1990) reviewed issues surrounding the creation of “an advocacy portfolio” designed to compile such evidence. The present article describes an approach to evaluating or assessing this evidence of prior learning with a view towards awarding National Vocational Qualification Units. A methodology is offered, through which the validity and reliability of APL assessment decisions may be enhanced.