TAE Textbook Chapter 9

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Jan 9, 2024

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Page 2 of 52 Assessment This section addresses the following units: TAEASS301 Contribute to assessment TAEASS401 Plan assessment activities and processes TAEASS502 Design and develop assessment tools TAEASS402 Assess competence TAEASS403 Participate in assessment validation When you consider a topic like assessment, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is all about testing and examinations. In reality, assessing in the vocational education sector requires that you understand and apply the skills of planning, creating, conducting and validating assessment within a highly regulated environment. The topic is best tackled holistically by picturing the process as a cycle that must be worked through each time an assessment is planned and conducted rather than looking at planning or conducting in isolation. Consider the assessment process represented in the diagram.

Page 3 of 52 Assessment process cycle The assessment process, 1. Consider: First, consider the context of the assessment and the various approaches you could use to gather the appropriate evidence for the activity. 2. Discuss: You then discuss with relevant stakeholders to ensure the assessment meets the needs of the industry, client, training organisation and competency benchmarks. 3. Create: You can now set about creating the assessment tools: the plan, the assessment instruments, the instructions and the supporting documents and resources. 4. Implement : You then trial the activities in accordance with the assessment plan to see if it meets expectations. 5. Feedback: After the assessment decision is made, you provide feedback to candidates regarding their results and gather feedback about the process from candidates to use in your final step. 6. Validate: Finally, you evaluate the tools and results to determine if they meet the rules and standards of assessing vocational competence. The purpose of the assessment process is to gather the necessary evidence required to make an informed decision about a person's workplace competence. While undertaking assessment, the person is known as an assessment candidate . Any decision you make about the candidate's competence may have an effect on: • ongoing training • work outcomes and management decisions • certification or qualification within a particular field • recognition of prior learning or accrued competencies. In the VET system, assessment is primarily used for recognising a candidate's work-based competence — either in part or in total. Of course, assessments are not purely used as final indicators but also as informative measures of progress for each participant throughout their learning journey. The process may involve many people from various vocations, such as auditors, facilitators, instructional designers, trainers, training managers, clients and industry stakeholders, and, of course, the candidates. Their perspectives must all be considered when planning and implementing an effective assessment process. In this part, we look at the underpinning foundations of assessment practices before moving on to describe the necessary requirements for planning and implementing quality assessment tools and processes. We also cover the requirement of ongoing improvement through the consultation and the validation process, and the use of feedback. Assessment is the final step in the training cycle and, as such, reflects the culmination of the efforts of trainers, participants, assessors and all others who have had input into the process. It is, therefore, often considered the most critical part of the cycle. By ensuring the ongoing integrity, quality and professionalism of the vocational assessment process, you are making an important contribution to Australia's industries and its economy.

Page 4 of 52 CHAPTER 9 TAEASS301 Contribute to assessment TAEASS401 Plan assessment activities and processes TAEASS502 Design and develop assessment tools ELEMENT 1 Determine assessment approach The approach to assessing an individual's or group's skills and knowledge must be relevant to the work context and the outcomes required by the learners. It involves establishing the who, what, when, where and how of the assessment process by considering the learners' needs, the work context and the benchmarks they must achieve for a competent outcome. The planning stage is therefore vital to the successful implementation of quality assessment activities. LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon completion of this section you should be able to: 1.1 Identify candidate and confirm purposes and context of assessment/RPL with relevant people according to legal, organizational and ethical requirements 1.2 Identify and access benchmarks for assessment/RPL and any specific assessment guidelines Understanding Assessment There are two commonly used types of assessment: norm-referenced assessment and criterion-based assessment. A norm-referenced assessment is essentially a competitive form of assessment where candidates are ranked against their peers for any given activity. For example, an assessment of the fastest 100-metre sprinter at the Olympic Games features a set of eight competitors, of which only one can win on the day. Similarly, the high school tertiary entrance examinations feature a set of students all aiming for a good entrance score, yet the results depend on the scores of all participants. Government bodies and education institutions use what is called a normal distribution curve (or bell-shaped curve) to allocate grades across the gamut of scores received for a given assessment — hence the name ‘ norm-referenced ’ assessment.

Page 5 of 52 Figure 9.1 Determining the best approach to assessment for each circumstance Criterion-based assessment is a measure against a prescribed benchmark or standard for which the candidate can either be found competent or not yet competent. For example, if you wished to assess whether candidates could hammer a nail into a piece of wood, they would either do the task, or not do the task. Any shades of grey, such as the methods used, the timing, the length of the nail and so forth, would need to be spelled out in the instructions to the candidates so that they would know the exact criteria they would need to meet in order to pass the task. TASK 9.1 Determine whether a formal job Interview is an example of norm-referenced or criterion-based assessment. Explain your point of view. Competency-based assessment In the VET sector, assessment is used to determine a candidate's level of competency, which means assessing whether or not they can perform tasks in a manner that suits workplace requirements. It also means that a candidate can potentially achieve their qualification faster if they can demonstrate competency sooner. As an assessor you must ensure that all tasks are performed safely and with reference to the underpinning knowledge, which guides the specific work practice. Examples of competency-based assessment include: • work-focused assessment — ensuring the assessment aligns with current work practices, procedures and policies • criterion-referenced assessment — the assessment is based on specified criteria, which must be met in order to grant competency to the candidate • standards-based assessment — the assessment tool uses a national, industry or organisational standard to benchmark the performance of the candidate • evidence-based assessment — assessment must be accompanied by valid, authentic, current and sufficient evidence to grant competency. Standards and benchmarks The standards by which candidates are assessed can include:

Page 6 of 52 • units of competency from endorsed training packages • modules from a curriculum • standard operating procedures • product specifications • legislation (including regulations and specified codes of practice) • work policies and procedures. These standards provide the benchmarks to which assessment criteria can be set. A benchmark represents the line over which competence in that particular skill can be established by the assessor. For example, if candidates demonstrated they could complete a specific task in accordance with the requirements of the unit of competency, then the assessor would find them 'competent ’. If, for some reason, they failed to complete the task to the standards required, they would be found 'not yet competent ’. That is, they did not meet the benchmark. This is the basis for criterion-based assessment. Figure 9.2 Workplace processes for competency-based assessment can differ dramatically Other features of competency-based assessment As well as aligning assessment tasks to specific standards, competency-based assessment requires the gathering of evidence and the participation of the candidate in the assessment process. Evidence is gathered to enable you, the assessor, to establish the competence of the individual. The evidence is produced by the candidate during an assessment and interpreted by the assessor using what is referred to as professional judgement. Where work-based projects or recognition of prior learning (RPL), are determined as the most appropriate way of proving competence, the evidence provided may have already been assessed by a third party, such as a previous assessor or supervisor. This type of evidence is common but requires further validation. In competency-based assessment, gaining the participation of the candidate refers to: 1. Consultation with the candidate prior to conducting the assessment in order to establish personal and work requirements. For example, the candidate may already do a job that could be used to generate evidence of competence

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