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The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included. |
Training and/or assessment organisation refers to: | a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), i.e. an organisation registered to provide recognised training and assessment services; includes TAFE institutes, private commercial colleges/ companies, enterprises, community organisations, group training companies and schoolsan organisation working in a partnership arrangement with an RTO to provide recognised training and assessment servicesan organisation that provides non-recognised training and assessment services |
Purpose and focus of validation may include: | as part of organisational quality assurance processesto address an identified area of risk in assessment practice and qualityto demonstrate compliance with the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) |
| to ensure assessments meet the evidence requirements of the competency standards or other assessment benchmarksto provide evidence for external auditto provide evidence for internal auditto improve assessment practicesto evaluate the quality of assessment toolsto provide professional developmentto increase assessor confidenceto determine whether different assessors using the same tools collect the same types and levels of evidenceto determine whether different assessors interpret the same evidence similarlyto determine whether assessment decisions reflect the principles of assessment and rules of evidence |
Context of validation may include: | internal to the organisation, e.g. same site or across sitesexternal to the organisation, e.g. in a industry, region, city, state, assessor networkthrough licensing or similar bodywith co-assessorswith peers/colleagues from other training and/or assessment organisations |
Relevant people must include: | other assessor/s involved in the validation exercise |
Relevant people may include: | lead assessorsmanagers, supervisorstechnical and subject experts, including occupational health and safety (OHS) experts and language, literacy and numeracy specialistspersonnel or partners with responsibilities for input into the quality assurance systemtraining and/or assessment coordinatorsindustry clientsindustry regulatorsemployee and employer representativesmembers of professional associationspersonnel from a state or territory registering bodyindependent validators |
Approach to validation may include: | assessment panelsmoderation meetingscollectively developing/reviewing banks of assessment tools and exemplarsbenchmarkingfield testing, trialling and piloting assessment toolspeer reviewteam assessmentinternal audit processclient feedback mechanismsmentoring of less experienced by more experienced assessorsuse of independent assessment validator to review validation processes |
Assessment system policies and procedures may include: | candidate selectionrational and purpose of competency-based assessmentassessment records/data management/information managementrecognition of current competency/recognition of prior learning/credit arrangementsassessors - needs, qualifications, maintaining currencyassessment reporting procedures assessment appealscandidate grievances/complaintsvalidationevaluation/internal auditcosts/resourcing access and equity/reasonable adjustmentpartnership arrangements links with human resource or industrial relations systems links with overall quality management system |
Organisational/legal/ethical requirements may include: | legal and ethical responsibilities of assessorsassessment system policies and proceduresreporting, recording and retrieval systems for assessment, including documenting the agreed approach to validation licensing/legal ramifications of assessing competence |
requirements of training and/or assessment organisations relating to assessment and validationquality assurance systemsbusiness and performance plansaccess and equity policies and procedurescollaborative/partnership arrangementspolicies, procedures and programsdefined resource parametersmutual recognition arrangementsindustrial relations systems and processes, awards/enterprise agreementsAQTF Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), in particular Standard 8, RTO assessmentregistration scopehuman resource policies/procedures and legal requirements including anti-discrimination, equal employment, job role/responsibilities/conditionsrelevant industry codes of practiceconfidentiality and privacy requirements of information relating to completed assessmentsOHS considerations, including: ensuring OHS requirements are adhered to during the assessment processidentifying and reporting OHS hazards and concerns to relevant personnel |
Benchmark/s for assessment refers to: | the criterion against which the candidate is assessed which, may be a competency standard/unit of competency, assessment criteria of course curricula, performance specifications, product specifications |
Evidence: | is material collected which, when matched against the specifications in the competency standards, provides proof of competency achievement |
Related documentation may include: | the Assessment Guidelines of the relevant Training Package/sinformation from the competency standards about the resources required for assessment, the assessment context, appropriate assessment methods standards |
assessment activities identified in accredited modules derived from the relevant competency assessment activities in Support Materials related to the relevant competency standardsany requirements of OHS, legislation, codes of practice, standards and guidelinesindicators and levels of competence of the National Reporting Systemorganisational requirements for demonstration of work performanceproduct specifications |
Material/s may include: | assessment toolssamples of collected evidencedocumentation outlining the basis of assessment decisionsreports/records of assessment decisionsvalidation templatesvalidation checklistsassessment exemplars and competency standardssampling techniquesbanks of assessment toolssurvey proformas |
Validation activities may include: | analysing and reviewing assessment toolsanalysing and reviewing collected evidenceanalysing and reviewing assessment decisions/records of assessment outcomesexamining assessment recordsexamining assessment systemsdiscussing the assessment process, issues, difficulties in interpretationholding interviews with each other or with management, trainers/facilitators, candidatesanalysing client feedbackobserving assessment conductusing validation toolsreviewing and interpreting Assessment Guidelinesexamining assessor qualificationsanalysing appeals processes recording evidence of validation processes and outcomes |
Assessment process is defined as: | key steps involved in the assessment cycle |
Assessment plan is the overall planning document for the assessment process and may include: | the purpose and aims of the assessmentthe context of assessmentrelevant competency standards to be used as the benchmarks for assessmentother assessment information/documentation identified as relevantidentified personnelidentified assessment methods and assessment tools possibilities for clustering units of competency for assessment purposesidentified OHS hazards, including assessed risks and control strategiesmaterial and/or physical resources requiredorganisational arrangements for conducting assessmentOHS reporting requirementsany special assessment needs, e.g. personal protective equipment requirementsoutline of assessment milestones, time lines and target datescandidate self-assessment proceduresconnections to relevant organisational plans, polices and procedures |
Assessment methods are the particular techniques used to gather evidence and may include: | direct observation, for example: real work/real time activities at the workplacework activities in a simulated workplace environmentstructured activities, for example: simulation exercises/role-playsprojectspresentationsactivity sheetsquestioning, for example: written questions, for example, on a computerinterviewsself-assessmentverbal questioningquestionnairesoral or written examinations (applicable at higher AQF levels) |
portfolios, for example: collections of work samples compiled by the candidateproduct with supporting documentationhistorical evidencejournal/log bookinformation about life experiencereview of products, for example: products as a result of a projectwork samples/productsthird party feedback, for example: testimonials/reports from employers/supervisorsevidence of trainingauthenticated prior achievementsinterview with employer, supervisor, peer |
Assessment tools contain: | the instruments to be used for gathering evidence such as: a profile of acceptable performance measurestemplates/proformasspecific questions or activitiesevidence/observation checklistschecklists for the evaluation of work samplescandidate self-assessment materials the procedures, information and instructions for the assessor/candidate relating to the use of assessment instruments and the conditions for assessment |
Judgement is a two-step process and means: | the decision made by the assessor on whether the evidence provided meets the principles of assessment and rules of evidencethe decision made by the assessor, based on the evidence provided and evaluated, on whether the candidate is competent/not yet competent |
Principles of assessment are: | validityreliabilityflexibilityfairness |
Rules of evidence are: | validity sufficiency currency authenticity |
Recommendations for improvement may include: | ongoing professional development strategies for assessorschanges to assessment system policies and procedureschanges to assessment strategieschanges to assessment planschanges to selected assessment methodschanges/development of new assessment toolsimproved records managementchanges to assessment resources instigation of/changes to partnership arrangementsimprovements to evidence collection provision of additional information for assessors/candidatesgreater advice/support/supervision of assessorsexemplars liaison with technical experts/specialist support |