Assessing Candidate’s Performance

Learning Outcomes
• Pre assessment meeting
• Conduct assessment according to competency standards
• Provide feedback to candidates
• Complete assessment administration
• Review assessment Process/Post assessment moseration

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Conducting Pre Assessment Meeting

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 Assessment Materials required for Pre Assessment
Meeting
Assessment Plan It is a document which guides and structures the assessment arrangement
for the qualification or standards to be assessed.

Evidence guides States the quantity and quality of evidence required including judgement
statements for the assessor.

Checklists Lists of tools and equipment, consumables etc. required for assessment.
They can also be tick boxes for the collection of evidence, usually at
performance criteria level.

Instruction for It includes the instructions for assesse to perform the task to be assessed
assessee during assessment

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Pre-Assessment Moderation

It is conducted before actual assessment to verify that the assessment

tools and instruments are consistent, accurate and well designed.
The process of pre-assessment moderation conducted should identify
areas where assessments are inconsistent or irregularities have occurred.
Registered Assessor must follow up on moderation reports and ensure
appropriate steps are taken to ensure that problems are addressed
timeously.

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Sequence of Events in an Assessment Day

• Candidates are identified and marked as present on the Assessment Centre’s list
1 of enrollments

• Candidates are assigned a work area for their assessment

2

• Time is allowed for the candidate to establish their work area as they require for
3 the tasks ahead

• Assessment starts at the advertised time and is completed at the stipulated time
4

• Assessment decision is made and communicated to the candidate/s in a timely

5 manner and according to the principles of feedback

• Assessment processes is reviewed

6

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Requirements for Conduct of Assessment

1. Complying with Processes and Standards

2. Introduction of Assessor and Candidate
3. Briefing Candidate about Assessment
4. Fairness of Assessment
5. Do not accept any Gift or Remuneration from Candidates
6. Completing all Documentation

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Assessment Procedure

• Study the competency standard/s and the evidence guide/s

1

• Select appropriate competency standard/s for assessment (the pre-assessment meeting) and
2 source the related national evidence guide

• Identify opportunities for gathering evidence (the pre-assessment meeting) based on relevant
3 national evidence guide

• Collect the evidence

4

• Judge the evidence

5

• Give feedback to the candidate

6

• Record and report

7

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What is Evidence and what not?

• Candidate’s explanation of how to • Candidate’s verbal assurances

do it, or parts of it, and their they can do it “I’ve been doing it
answers to specific questions. for years.”

• Specific, competency-related • Performance

references, preferably on letter- reviews/appraisals relevant to
head, signed and dated by the competencies being
appropriate person. assessed.

• Personal references making • Job descriptions/position

general comments about descriptions, especially if not
character. signed off.

• Unauthenticated products which

the candidate cannot prove are
their work.
•
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 What is Evidence and what Not?
• Emails and minutes of meetings • Journals and diary entries written
attended by the candidate which by the candidate.
provide proof of work undertaken
• Old products – especially if
• Authenticated (e.g., signed off) methods of work have changed.
and dated photographs or videos
• Observed performance
of work in progress or products.
• Observation of inappropriate
• Unauthenticated pictures, video
simulation/role play (e.g.,
or photographs of work or
swimming on dry land)
products.
• Recently produced products
• ‘Evidence’ by exception – “I must
(anything from a report to a
be working safely – I’ve still got all
cake or building) and proof
my fingers!”.
they have been produced by
the candidate.
• .
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. XXX Page 12
Evidence Gathering Methods and Tools
Evidence Gathering Methods Evidence Gathering Tools

 Observing the task or work activities  Observation checklist

of the candidate by the assessor
 Third party report
 Assessing a product using technical
 Demonstration
parameters
 Work related project
 Written test
 Questioning
 Verbal questions for candidate
 Portfolio
 References from previous employer

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Common Mistakes Made by Assessors

Halo Effect When you make positive judgements about a candidate based
on his reputation or your personal likeness.

Fail to observe This happens when you miss critical aspect or cues due to
inexperience or unpreparedness for the assessment or due to
the burden of assessing large number of candidates.

Fail to record Lack of adequate planning and underestimation of recording

requirements results in failing to record evidence of
assessment.
Overlook of When you are unwilling to confront cheating or influenced to
Cheating outside pressures.

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Making Assessment Decision

1. Is the evidence valid?

2. Is the evidence authentic?
3. Is the evidence sufficient?
4. Is your judgement consistent?

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Making Assessment Decision

1. Is the evidence valid?

• Does the evidence match standards and assessment criteria?
• Does the evidence assess what you set out to assess?
• Does the evidence show the candidate can perform the function/s?
• Is the evidence in a form that will allow accurate judgements to be
made of the candidate’s level of competence?

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Making Final Judgement

• Always try to make judgement as objective as possible by observing

evidence, criteria, guidelines and rules
• No decision can be made in an impersonal vacuum, so we acknowledge
that a degree of informed subjective judgement on your part will be
involved.
• When making your judgement about competency, be clear about the
reasons you have for reaching your decision. These reasons will form
the basis of your feedback to the candidates.
• If you cannot make a decision about competency, you should ask the
candidate to submit additional evidence. If after submission you are
ready to make a decision, do so

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Reasonable Adjustment

When we make arrangements to change something for a candidate who

has some special requirement, it is called a Reasonable Adjustment.
Still allows for an accurate decision to be made about whether the
candidate has demonstrated the nationally agreed standard as set down
by the Qualification.
It would be unreasonable to make a decision, if we only had information
that they could meet a lower standard of performance.

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Question Types

There are two basic types of questions that an assessor can ask. These
are:
• closed questions
• open-ended questions

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Closed Questions

Closed questions require a specific response such as the name of an item, a

yes/no answer, a date or title. For example:
• What colour is used to signify a positive in electrical wiring?
• When was this product last used?
• What are the four types of fuel used in this workplace?
• Who would you ask first, if you needed further information?
• How long will the fish stock take to cook?
• What type of bolt would you use to attach X?
• Is part A the correct part for this job?

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Open-ended Questions

Used when a more detailed response from the candidate is required. They
often involve problem solving, interpretation and the application of knowledge
and skill to new situations. They can be used to:
• probe the candidate’s underpinning knowledge and understanding -
that is, the what, when, where, why and how of what the candidate is
doing
• explore contingency situations such as emergencies, breakdowns and
unusual situations that are not likely to occur during the period of
observation
• check on critical safety knowledge and understanding needed for the
activity
• probe knowledge and understanding of relevant regulations and
procedures
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Extension Questions

• What would you do if … ? (a similar but different situation)

• What if you were using … instead of … ? (alternative
equipment/procedures etc.)

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Contingency Questions

• What would you do in the event of …? (accident or emergency)

• What would you do if ... ? (equipment broke down or something
malfunctioned)
• What would you do if … (complaint was made or conflict occurred)
• How do you avoid … ? (preventative safety measure)

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Safety Questions

• What precautions must you take when … ?

• What safety equipment and clothing should you use when … ?
• Why shouldn’t you … ? (procedure or activity that is not permitted)
• What would you do if … ? (dangerous situation)
• How do you avoid … ? (preventative safety measure)

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Questions on Infrequent Activities

• What would you do if …? (rarely occurring but critical situation)

• If … happened, what action would you take?

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Questions on Regulations and Procedures

• What are the regulations in respect of … ?

• What are the specified procedures or steps to … ?
• What checks are required by the manufacturer to … ?
• What is the regulation that covers … ? (situation or activity)
• What are the organisational regulations that apply when … happens?

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Hints for Effective Questioning

• Keep questions short and focused on one key concept

• Ensure that questions are structured and not ambiguous
• Keep questions clear and straightforward and ask one at a time
• Link the questions to work experience
• Use words that the candidate will understand
• Look at the candidate when asking questions

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Provide Feedback to Candidates

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Importance of Feedback

• Constructive feedback during formative assessment ensures that the

learner understands how to overcome any problems or weaknesses in
learning.
• Even when the trainee has provided evidence of competence, or has
achieved the specified learning outcomes, the feedback session can be
used to explore the next stage in learning or development.
• Always ask the learner how he/she felt about the assessment before
offering your feedback. The learner’s self-esteem should be enhanced
by having the opportunity to critically reflect on their own performance.

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Give and Receive Feedback

For effective feedback, the following rules should be adopted:

1. Feedback should be about behaviour and never personality

2. Feedback should be as specific
3. Feedback should be timely
4. Feedback should be courteous

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Methods for Providing Feedback

1. Feedback should be about behaviour and never personality

2. Feedback should be as specific
3. Feedback should be timely
4. Feedback should be courteous

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Recording Feedback and Forms

• Record your assessment decision on the forms supplied for that purpose
and any other supporting information including feedback given to the
candidate on the same day as the assessment.
• The form to be used is the National Evidence Guide, where all pages must
be completed correctly and sufficient for you to recall the details some
months later when required to defend your decision-making at moderation.
• It is recommended, you document the feedback on separate sheet and
attach to the Evidence Guide. The feedback should reflect the comments
made in the column provided in Section 4 Assessor Judgement Guide of
the Evidence Guide.

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Complete Assessment Administration

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Requirements for Recording Assessment Results
from Awarding Body’s Perspective

1. Complete all assessment forms and supporting information

Complete all assessment forms and supporting information well in time and to ensure
that the information in the Evidence Guide is entered into National Skills Information
System (NSIS) database.

2. Record assessment information carefully

Assessment information must be recorded carefully because it could be required later
as part of the moderation or appeal process. It can also be demanded by awarding
body or the assessment center in future.

3. Store and secure assessment data properly

All records must be kept secured and access must be restricted, in accordance with
the Awarding Body’s requirements. Storage will be within the training institute in which
the assessments took place or the assessor’s place of work.

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Review Assessment Process /Post-assessment
Requirements for Moderation
• Centrally established and directed external moderation system has
been established by the NAVTTC.
• It is required to take part in external moderation activities with a sample
of the competency standards covered by its accreditation scope.
NAVTTC will identify the sample for each moderation activity.
• Accredited Training Institute is responsible for the coordination of
internal moderation activities, and the provincial Awarding Body is
responsible for the external moderation activities at a provincial level.

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Post-assessment Requirements for Moderation

The Assessor will collect all assessment evidence they have stored for this
purpose including assessment evidence guide for the nominated competency
standards.
If the assessor has conducted a number of assessments for the same
standard they should select evidence and documentation for one example of
assessment:

• for which competency was granted at the first assessment opportunity.

• for which competency was granted at the first re-assessment.
• that resulted in a “not yet competent” decision being made. All documents
should be checked to ensure completeness.

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