Written examinations and quality assurance in the craft trades

The establishment of examination task databases means that the chambers of crafts and trades now has a growing supply of assignments at its disposal for use in written master craftsman and advanced training examinations. All tasks have been developed via a process of national networking and correspond to jointly agreed quality criteria. The examination boards remain fully autonomous with regard to the selection and structuring of the assignments set. This article provides an insight into the procedural stages involved in drawing up examination task databases and shows the role played in quality assurance by the Zentralstelle für die Weiterbildung im Handwerk (ZWH) [Central Agency for Continuing Vocational Education and Training in the Skilled Crafts]. Clear advantages of such a collaborative approach towards the development of examination tasks are displayed in the form of a high degree of legal certainty of the assignments and a reduction of the amount of pressure placed on examiners, who are unpaid volunteers.