Demonstrate competence with assessment evidence
Does your evidence demonstrate competence?
I believe most assessors will only say someone is competent unless they are, in fact, competent. However, the only thing we have to show students are competent once they are gone is the assessment evidence we gathered, and that is where many RTOs become unstuck.
So how do you make sure the assessment evidence left behind demonstrates the competence of each of your students – good enough to pass an ASQA performance review (audit)?
Questions to ask
I recommend you dig up some past students’ assessment evidence from within the past six months (completed theory assessments, completed observation checklists, samples of completed documents or work etc). For each piece of evidence ask: “Does this support the assessor’s decision to deem the person competent (or not yet competent)?”
If you use theory assessments, compare the answers that students wrote to theory assessment questions against the model answers in the Marking Guide. Do students’ theory assessment answers marked as correct fall within the range of acceptable answers in the Marking Guide?
Are your Observation Checklists show what the assessor actually observed, or are they just a series of ticks against criteria?
Time to talk to your assessors.
If the answer to any of the above questions is no, it’s probably time to talk to your assessors about how they assess, as well as updating your assessment instruments as necessary.
Feeling ready?
Looking at past assessment evidence and addressing gaps in processes when you find them gets you ahead of the game. Doing this will get you feeling ready for an ASQA performance review.
Written by
Steve Scotton
steve@rescompliance.com.au
P.S - Remember, that evidence has to demonstrate the competence of the student against the requirements of the unit of competency. This may differ from what is considered competent by industry representatives or supervisors (or even assessors). Always defer to what the unit of competency says, not people’s opinions. If you need help with this, book a call with me today.
