Assessment strategy and rationale

Consistent with University assessment requirements, standards-based assessment is used in this unit, and assessments are designed to reflect learning outcomes and graduate attributes. Assessment Task 1 (Written Task) allows students to demonstrate their ability to engage with the unit content and further readings in order to compose an article relating to a contemporary topic in strength and conditioning. Assessment Task 2 (Written Task) allows students to clearly demonstrate their understanding of fundamental, underlying physical capacities relating to performance and appropriate training prescription to enhance those. Further, Assessment Task 2 enables students to show their ability to carefully plan and organise a 12-month period of training, taking into account different phases of training and competition. The 60% weighting for this assessment reflects that is a capstone assessment that encompasses significant aspects of the high-performance units that students have studied prior to this unit. A hurdle task exists in this unit to enable students to demonstrate their practical competencies in a variety of exercise and coaching techniques that are required to safely deliver advanced training programs to athletes.  

Additionally, the knowledge and skills assessed in this unit are requirements of the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) Level 1 and Level 2 accreditation scheme. EXSC396 is part of a suite of units that contribute to ACU achieving the status of an ASCA recognised industry provider, allowing the students to streamline accreditation with this important industry partner at the successful completion of their degree. The assessment tasks have been consequently designed to encompass the learning outcomes of the unit, while being aligned with the ASCA accrediting body.