Active IQ Level 4 Award in Understanding the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice (sample manual)

Manual
Level 4 Award in
Understanding the Internal
Quality Assurance of
Assessment Processes
and Practice
Version AIQ005733

Understanding the
principles and practice
of internally assuring the
quality of assessment
Aim
This unit will provide you with the underpinning knowledge required to understand the principles and practice
of internal quality assurance. This information will give those who wish to have, or currently have, responsibility
for internal quality assurance of training programmes the good practice, requirements and key processes to be
effective in their role.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this unit you will:
• Understand the context and principles of internal quality assurance
• Understand how to plan the internal quality assurance of assessment
• Understand techniques and criteria for monitoring the quality of assessment internally
• Understand how to internally maintain and improve the quality of assessment
• Understand how to manage information relevant to the internal quality assurance of assessment
• Understand the legal and good practice requirements for the internal quality
assurance of assessment
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1

Regulations, legal requirements and good practice
Section 2
Section 2: Regulations, legal
requirements and good
practice
The AO is responsible for regulating the delivery and assessment of its qualifications. To deliver these, the training
provider, through their own IQA processes and practice, must demonstrate they are meeting the requirements
stipulated by the following external bodies and regulators:
Ofsted
• Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. They inspect
and regulate services that care for children and young people and services
providing education and skills for learners of all ages, including schools,
colleges and training providers.
Ofqual
• The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, a non-ministerial
government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England
and Northen Ireland (Qualifications Wales in Wales and SCQF (Scottish Credit and
Qualifications Framework) in Scotland).
Regulated Qualifications Framework
• A national framework to help people understand all the qualifications
regulated – general and vocational in England, and vocational in Northern
Ireland – and how they relate to each other. They aim to improve consistency
in how awarding organisations describe the size, challenge or demand of the
qualifications they offer.
Awarding organisation
• An organisation or external body that issues qualifications formally, recognising
the learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and/or competences) of an individual
following an assessent and validation procedure.
The requirements you need to follow may differ depending on the industry, environment and context in which you
quality assure. However, there are some general requirements that are relevant to all IV roles, including:
Understanding the principles and practice of internally assuring the quality of assessment
• Regulation of course content and assessment practice
• Health and safety
• Equality and diversity
• Data protection
• Safeguarding
• Policies, procedures and codes of practice
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Section 2
Regulations, legal requirements and good practice
Valuing reflective practice and continuing professional
development
Refl ective practice is important for the IV. This means thinking about (or refl ecting on) what you did or the experience
you had and deciding from that what you would do the same or differently next time.
Refl ective practice requires a conscious effort to think about the experience and develop future ideas. All individuals
involved in the learning and development process can benefi t from it.
Gravells’ (2011) EDAR approach provides a simple mechanism for refl ection:
Experience
Describe
Analyse
Revise
Experience – the quality assurance performed which you would like to improve
or reflect on
Describe – who was involved, what happened, when and where it happened
Analyse – think more deeply, think how and why it happened
Revise – what you would do differently, what you would keep the same, try it
out next time
Following this method can allow any IV to refl ect on their own quality assurance practice and identify areas they
may wish to change. IVs can refl ect on their assurance experiences in a variety of ways including simple templates,
notebooks, evaluation forms, self-refl ection logs, learning logs or diaries.
Continual professional development (CPD) is a means by which verifi ers can maintain, improve and broaden
their knowledge, skills and quality assurance practice. This can be achieved in many ways, including attending
workshops, online training, conferences, shadowing, buddying, mentoring others or further qualifi cations. With
respect to assessment practice, CPD is vital as standards and qualifi cations change, regulations are amended, and
subject knowledge and skills are constantly evolving. Without CPD an IV risks not being occupationally competent
and being unable to perform their role. Most awarding organisations and training providers will require evidence of
regular CPD to maintain the standards, licence or qualifi cations to assess. As an IV, it is important to:
✓
✓
✓
Develop how to cope positively and confi dently with assessment challenges and changes.
Showcase verifi er’s achievements and enhance credibility.
Defi ne, monitor and achieve career goals.
ACTIVITY
Refl ect on your current experience as a new IV using the EDAR approach above. Include the
opportunities you will take over the coming months to develop your knowledge, skills and practice.
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Planning internal quality assurance
Section 3
Section 3: Planning internal
quality assurance
Importance of planning and preparation
As with any aspect of learning and development provision, planning is essential in ensuring a smooth, efficient and
effective quality assurance process.
To be effective, the IQA plan needs to consider the following factors:
Involvement of the
assessors
Date, time and
duration
Awarding organisation
requirements
Staff/support availability and
expertise
Type of
assessment
Number and ability of
learners
Type of IQA method –
desktop/live
Assessment method
and type
Environmental
conditions
Resources and
materials
Subject and qualification
specification
An initial sample plan covering all aspects needs to be put in place to ensure that the IQA activities are fair,
thorough and standardised. The nature of the plan (i.e. the size and frequency) should be adjusted according to the
qualification (i.e. level, new or well-established), experience and competence of the assessor involved and the size
and characteristics of the cohort being sampled.
An effective sample plan should also include a clearly written rationale providing justification for the size and
nature of the proposed sample so that assessors, other IVs, quality managers or EVs have a clear context for the
planning strategy and the reasons behind its design.
Understanding the principles and practice of internally assuring the quality of assessment
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Section 4
Monitoring and improving internal quality assurance
Judging the quality of the assessment process
When considering the quality of the assessment process, the IV must determine the extent to which the assessor
has adhered to the appropriate underlying principles of assessment:
Sufficient
• Has the learner provided enough evidence to meet the requirements – number of occasions, across a
number of contexts, presented in different formats?
• The IV needs to ensure that the assessor has made judgements on the suffi ciency of the evidence in relation
to the qualifi cation requirements.
Authentic
• The evidence must be the product of the learner.
• Practical observations are an effective way of confi rming this due to direct observation.
• Authenticity has become increasingly diffi cult to manage in a digital age, with electronic evidence increasing
the risk of plagiarism.
• The IV must be satisfi ed that the assessor has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the work is
authentic. This could include additional verbal questioning and professional discussions, as well as
authenticity declarations signed by the learner.
Reliable
• It must be possible for an assessment to be repeated with similar learners in similar contexts to give the
same results.
• Different assessors, poorly defi ned criteria and variations in assessment locations and resources all have the
potential to affect reliability.
• Through portfolio sampling the IV can determine the extent to which the assessment judgements are
consistent over time and between assessors. The IV can check, where stipulated, the secondary marking and
moderation of exam papers.
• Good practice would be for an IV to quality assure the same assessor over a period of time and/or for
developmental feedback to be shared across the IQA team, to allow trends and need for support to be picked
up, and reliability improved.
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Monitoring and improving internal quality assurance
Section 4
Standardisation requirements for assessment
One of the main challenges of the IQA process is ensuring that both delivery and assessment of qualifi cations is
consistent throughout the organisation. This can be challenging when assessment is occurring across a large,
remote working team, across multiple venues all at different times, year-round.
The IV must ensure that:
✦ All assessors consistently make valid decisions.
✦ All assessors make the same decisions based on the same evidence.
✦ All learners are treated fairly.
The most common and effective way to do this is through conducting standardisation activities.
Beyond the requirements from the AO, the frequency, format, duration and characteristics of these activities can be
determined by the training provider with input from the IQA team. Although standardisation may be led or facilitated
by an IV or lead IV, the assessors and IVs should all work as a team for shared responsibility. Activities could be:
Shared unit assessment
Real examples from a specific unit, all
assessed by assessors using normal
practice. These are collated, discussed
and reviewed, and feedback is given by
the IV.
Alternative evidence
New or unfamiliar forms of evidence can
be reviewed by assessors and consensus
is established to meet standards.
Old v new
As a team, work produced to old
standards is evaluated against new
standards to help highlight where
new evidence may be required and old
evidence is no longer needed.
Understanding the principles and practice of internally assuring the quality of assessment
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THE PURPOSE OF INTERNAL
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Checking
learner
registration
and
processing
Monitoring
quality of
assessment
decisions
Ensuring
consistent
and reliable
judgements
are made
Determining
effectiveness
of assessment
activities /
methods
QUALITY ASSURANCE
SATISFACTION
100%
G U A R A N
T E E D
Highlighting
problems,
trends and
development
needs
Ensuring
adherence
to awarding
policies
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
DATA PROTECTION (GDPR)
SAFEGUARDING
HEALTH AND SAFETY
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