Pupils/students assessment

The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training regulates the academic evaluation and accreditation processes of students of vocational training of the education system for the whole State. 

The education authorities develop these aspects for their respective regions. 

Characteristics of the evaluation of learning:

• it is continuous, formative and integrative, and helps to adapt both student learning and educational programmes
• it takes into account the objectives and evaluation criteria of each vocational module and the general objectives of the training cycle
• the marks of the different vocational modules are decided by the relevant teacher
• the rest of decisions on the evaluation process are agreed by consensus among all teachers
• form teachers and teachers are in constant communication with students regarding the assessment of their learning process. 

Marks in the process of evaluation of learning:

• they are expressed in numbers from 1 to 10 (whole numbers only). A 5 or over is considered a Pass
• completion of a training cycle thus requires a Pass grade in all the vocational modules comprised in the cycle
• the final mark of the training cycle is the arithmetic mean expressed with two decimal points
• the mark for the work placement module is expressed in terms of Passed/Failed. The form teacher of the educational institution participates, together with the person appointed by the company to supervise the work placement module, in assessing it
• at the end of each academic year, in the final evaluation session, the final mark of the different vocational modules is given.

Examination sessions in the evaluation of learning:

• each vocational module may be subject to assessment during two sessions each of the 4 years students may be pursuing these studies, except in the case of the work placement module, which can only be assessed for a maximum of two sessions
• on grounds of illness, disability, or other circumstances conditioning or preventing the normal course of studies, the education authorities may organise additional sessions for those students who have exhausted all opportunities for reassessment
• the work placement module, regardless of the time when it is completed, is evaluated once students have passed the vocational modules linked to competence units of the National Catalogue of Vocational Qualifications included in the work placement period.

Documents of the process of evaluation of learning:

• academic certificate: official document which includes the grades obtained by students until the relevant certification is issued
• student record: it includes the grades obtained 
• school assessment reports: they include information and the resolutions adopted by the teaching team at the evaluation session
• personalised assessment reports.

Academic certificates and personalised assessment reports guarantee pupils’ mobility. 

Regarding complaints about decisions and the grades obtained in the end-of-term examinations:

• the procedures and dates are established in the Departments of the different occupational families, managed by the Autonomous Communities
• if, after the revision process, there is still disagreement with the grade, students, or their parents or guardians, may ask, in writing and to the headteacher of the institution, for an alternative revision process by the relevant education authority.

At present, it is possible to recognise the professional competences acquired through work experience or non-formal training:

• those who are accredited with one-year full-time experience relating to the respective professional studies may be totally or partially exempt from the work placement module
• it is accredited through a certificate issued by the company where the experience was gained, which specifies the duration of the contract, the activity carried out and the period of time during which the activity was exercised
• in the case of self-employed workers, a certificate of registration, for a minimum of a year, at the tax register of parties liable for tax payments, as well as a statement of the most representative activities carried out by the applicant, are also required
• priority is given to the evaluation and accreditation of professional competences related to growing sectors which are generating employment, unemployed people who lack an accredited professional qualification and those sectors where there are regulations which require a formal accreditation for workers to get or maintain a job.

For more information, see Validation of non-formal and informal learning.

Progression of pupils/students

As a result of the evaluation process, the relevant decisions on students’ progression are taken collegially by the teaching team at the end of each year, bearing in mind the achievement of the objectives of the vocational modules taken.

The Autonomous Communities establish the requirements for progression to the 2nd year, provided one of the following conditions is met:

• having passed all the vocational modules of the 1st year
• if the vocational modules linked to competence units they have failed do not represent more than 20% of the weekly timetable; however, students will have to enrol in the modules of the 1st year
• if students progress to the 2nd year with failed vocational modules, they will have to participate in the activities planned for them to retake them, and they will have to be informed about their schedule, timing and the date of the evaluation.

The education authorities regulate the conditions for educational institutions to organise the corresponding supplementary examinations for each year, which are held in September.

Students who do not progress will join the group of those starting the training cycle, will have to carry out all the activities of the failed vocational modules and, if it is the case, will be evaluated during the periods established for the rest of the group.

Before the final ordinary examination is held and prior to the relevant decision, students, or their parents or guardians if they are minors, are informed about the decisions adopted and can complain about them. Educational institutions establish in their school development plan the procedure for them to complain.

Certification

Students who successfully complete a basic vocational training cycle are awarded the corresponding Basic Vocational Training Certificate.

This certificate is equivalent to the Lower Compulsory Secondary Education Certificate regarding access to public and private employment. Academically, they are qualified to:

• have access to intermediate vocational training cycles
• obtain the Lower Compulsory Secondary Education Certificate, provided that, in the final evaluation of the training cycle, the teaching team considers that they have achieved the objectives of the stage and acquired the corresponding skills. In this case, the final mark for compulsory secondary education will be the average obtained in the modules linked to the common blocks.

Students who do not obtain the Basic Vocational Training Certificate on completion of their studies are awarded an academic certificate for the vocational modules passed. This certificate has the corresponding academic effect, as well as the effect of partial cumulative accreditation of the professional competences acquired regarding the National System of Qualifications and Vocational Training.

These certificates specify the grades obtained, both Pass and Fail grades, as well as the specific examination session (ordinary or supplementary) and academic year they were obtained, until the relevant certification is issued. The State General Administration, after consultation with the General Council for Vocational Training, in is charge of determining the conditions and basic regulations in order to obtain these certificates.

They are issued, on behalf of the King, by the Minister of Education or the relevant body in the Autonomous Community in question. The following details must be included on the back:

• explicit mention of the fact that the certificate is issued, on behalf of the King, by the Minister of Education or the relevant regional authority
• mention of the fact that it is issued on successful completion of the corresponding studies leading to the award of the certificate
• name and surnames, place and date of birth and nationality of the student
• name and location of the educational institution where the studies were completed, month and year of completion and, where legally appropriate, final mark obtained
• place and date of issue of the certificate
• evidence of the official status of the certificate
• three signatures: in the case of the Autonomous Communities, the signatures of the competent body, the relevant authority of the executive body responsible for controlling the issuing of certificates in the Autonomous Community and the interested party. As for the certificates issued by the Ministry of Education, the signatures of the Minister, the Director-General responsible for issuing certificates and the interested party
• the national and regional regulations guaranteeing the official nature of the studies.

Other students who may obtain the Basic Vocational Training Certificate

• from the age of 18, students may sit the examinations established by the education authorities to directly obtain the Basic Vocational Training Certificate
• students aged 22 who prove the professional competence required, through Level 1 certificates of professional experience or the evaluation and accreditation procedure established, may also be awarded this certificate.

Recognition and exemption

The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training enables the recognition and exemption from studies.

The conditions and procedures applied are the same as those generally established for vocational training provision:

1. students who have successfully completed the common modules of a basic vocational training cycle have them recognised for any other basic vocational training cycle they may take.
2. students who have completed an Initial Vocational Qualification Programme:

• if they have passed the compulsory training modules of the communication and social fields, and if they have also passed the Foreign Language module, they might be recognised the Communication and Society I vocational module
• if they have passed the compulsory training module of the scientific/technological field, they might be recognised the Applied Sciences I vocational module.

1. students aged over 17 who take basic vocational training cycles might be recognised the following:
   • if they have passed the subjects of the 4th year of compulsory secondary education in any of their options included in the Communication and Social Sciences block, they might be recognised the Communication and Society I and II modules
   • if they have passed the subject of Mathematics of the 4th year of compulsory secondary education in any of its options, they might be recognised the Applied Sciences I and II modules.