The oral exam is a verbal exchange between the candidate and the assessor. Questions may concern skills, competence and/or knowledge. Assessors lead the interview in the way that they want, asking questions that are relevant to the unit and the level of the exam. The duration of the oral exam is decided by the assessor.

The oral exam can be carried out parallel to or at the end of the practical exam.

It is always important to:

• inform the candidates that an oral exam will take place, to allow them to 
plan their practice and have enough time for the oral exam;
• plan enough time for an oral exam within the time schedule of the assessment.

Types of questions  

The assessor may ask about:

• the practical task and the piece of work: why did the candidate act in a chosen way, why he/she chose a particular plaster mix or tool, how does the candidate evaluate his/her results, what went wrong, why, how could he/she have made it better, what 
would be the next steps, etc.;
• errors or unclear answers in the written exam;
• own professional experience : how does the candidate usually manage sourcing 
of materials, which machines does he/she use, how did the candidate behave in a given situation regarding a technical problem or regarding the relationship with the client, etc.;
• imagined situation : what would the candidate do if…
If all these points are raised, the interview should take about 20 minutes per person.

 

Oral exam and competence assessment

From the Learn•Earth partners experience, the assessor scores competence after observing and considering the results of all three elements of the exam – written exam, practical work and technical discussion.

This enables him or her to assess

• if the examinee has achieved the learning outcomes at the examined level
•  to what degree of autonomy.