This paper sheds light on how competence assessment takes place in the Danish Vocational and Educational Training System. It discusses how intentions formulated by the government have unintentional effects when implemented in practice. The qualitative methods used in this study consist of participant observations from my field study of dropouts in a Danish car mechanic programme, in which I was enrolled as a student in the basic course for 30 weeks. These observations were derived from field notes; teaching and test materials; and interviews with students, teachers, a school counsellor and the school leader. According to the Danish Ministry of Education, the competence assessment should describe the students' prerequisite competencies during the first two weeks and track students' progress to different levels of ability. Contrary to official intentions, several students are advised to seek alternative educational placement in each beginning class, thus creating a 'push-out' effect. © 2013 The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.
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