Chapter 17 — Practical assessment
Lesson map
Lesson 17 published. Map, example, EX065.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["17.1 The task"]
N2["17.2 Doing the checks"]
N3["17.3 Preparing the file"]
N4["17.4 Explaining to the assessor"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX065"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["17.1 The task"]
N2["17.2 Doing the checks"]
N3["17.3 Preparing the file"]
N4["17.4 Explaining to the assessor"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX065"]
[Learning outcomes]
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v
[17.1 The task]
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v
[17.2 Doing the checks]
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v
[17.3 Preparing the file]
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v
[17.4 Explaining to the assessor]
|
v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX065]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) complete a practical data task under assessment; (2) document your work; (3) explain your choices to an assessor.
17.1 The task
For her practical assessment, Marta receives a synthetic month of Linkway data with hidden problems. She must check the data, find and report problems, prepare the authority file, update the issue log and explain her work to an assessor. She has one working day. She plans her time: an hour reading the data and documents, three hours on checks, two hours on the file and log and an hour preparing her explanation. She writes the plan at the top of her working notes so that the assessor can see how she used her time.
17.2 Doing the checks
Marta runs her scripts for validity and missing counts, compares counts with ticket sales and checks stop names against the official list. She finds four problems: a route with many missing counts, a bus with impossible values, two stops with old names and a day where uploads were late. She records each in the issue log with counts, likely causes and who should be told, following the format she practised. She also notes which problems would affect funding, so that the most important ones can be handled first.
17.3 Preparing the file
Marta prepares the authority file, leaving out trips with impossible values and noting them in the covering note rather than guessing replacements. She checks totals against the monthly report, adjusting for the excluded trips, and lists the route with missing counts so the authority understands the gap. She saves her work with clear names in a dated folder. She notes that being open about gaps is better than hiding them. The assessor later notes that her file and covering note would be ready to send to the authority.
17.4 Explaining to the assessor
The assessor asks why Marta did not fill in missing counts with averages. She explains that guessing would make the file look complete but could be wrong, and that the steward and authority should decide how to treat gaps. The assessor also asks how she would stop the stop name problem recurring. She explains the official list and the rule that new stops are added there first. The assessor marks her work as competent with merit. Marta records the assessor's comments in her workbook.
Worked example
Marta plans a one-day assessment, finds four hidden problems with her checks and logs them, prepares the authority file with exclusions noted openly and explains why she did not guess missing values.
Synthetic case. The assessment is synthetic.
Errors and limits
Filling gaps with guesses makes files look complete but less trustworthy.
Exercises
- EX065 — Problems found. How many problems did Marta find? Rubric: 3 = four;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
- EX066 — Impossible values. How did Marta treat trips with impossible values? Rubric: 3 = left them out and noted them;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = guessed;; 0 = none.
- EX067 — Averages answer. Why not fill missing counts with averages? Rubric: 3 = guesses could be wrong; steward and authority should decide;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX068 — Assessment result. What result did Marta receive? Rubric: 3 = competent with merit;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = other;; 0 = none.
Continue studying — lesson 17 (chapter 17 of 18)
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