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The Assessment Role
Step One: Assessment planning
The starting point for your IVQ assessor is to support you with planning and agreeing an assessment plan. Assessment plans are records that identify what, how and when assessment is required.
So as a very simple example, an assessment plan might agree that your IVQ Assessor will watch you work at different times on different days. During these observations the assessor may also plan to ask questions on your performance and related knowledge. This plan might identify how the assessments are expected to provide evidence for different work activities and their related IVQ units.
Assessment planning is not a one-off affair. As the IVQ progresses, further assessment planning meetings are necessary to review and feedback on what has been achieved and then agree the next assessment plan. It is important that these meetings are kept at regular intervals.
In addition to considering what assessment is required, assessment planning is also used by the IVQ Assessor as an opportunity to consider other matters:
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The use of action planning to agree timed targets and goals for to measure progress through your award.
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Reading the IVQ standards and interpreting those standards relevant to your own work setting.
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Helping decide which assessment methods are required and are most suitable (fair, valid and reliable) for a particular assessment and your own needs.
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Providing support and guidance on the assessment methods agreed.
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Working with the other people involved in the assessment process, such as workplace supervisors, service users, and internal verifiers.
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Discussing your existing level of competence and supporting you to access any training or development that might be required.
Step Two: Carrying out assessment
Having agreed your plan the next step for your assessor will be to carry out actual assessments. Normally this will involve carrying out the agreed plan, however this should not rule out any other unplanned opportunities that arise for assessment.
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This may involve the IVQ Assessor assessing your work directly, for example through direct observation, questioning, professional discussion or looking at work that you have produced in the workplace.
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It may also involve assessing evidence from other sources such as witnesses; your own reflection or explanation; case studies, projects and tasks; evidence of prior learning and experience (RPL, APL or APEL); and occasionally simulation.
As this assessment takes place your assessor has many different decisions and judgements to make:
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How and where do individual assessments demonstrate your competence against the IVQ standards?
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Is evidence presented by the you (or others) authentic; is it your own work and prove your competence?
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Is assessment sufficient to prove your competence against a whole unit or award?
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Is assessment reliable, does it prove your ability to consistently work to the right standard and repeat your performance?
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Is assessment being recorded to meet the needs of the award and of internal verification within the centre?
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Are there any concerns or queries on assessment that need referring to the Internal Verifier? For example where a criteria is difficult to interpret.
The IVQ Asessors Role: Providing feedback and support
As you progress through the IVQ a further role of your assessor is to provide you with timely, constructive feedback and support on assessment and also keep you informed on your progress through the qualification. This may be feedback on an individual assessment or may be in the form of a prearranged review meetings that look at overall progress. Your Assessor will use feedback and support to:
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Confirm what you have achieved and where you have proved your comptence
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Identify additional assessment required to confirm competence and cover missing areas of competence?
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Update the assessment planning process to identify the next assessment steps.
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Where areas of development have been identified, advise you on how these can be addressed, for example further assessment or training or available learning resources.
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Give you support on areas of assessment, for example on how to write up a reflective account.
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Use review and action planning to identify progress towards agreed goals.
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Provide encouragement and motivation.
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Support you to raise concerns and if required seek additional support from the centre.
The IVQ Asessors Role: Other duties
In addition to the assessment roles described above, in some centres the IVQ Asessor may have other responsibilities within your programme. For example the IVQ Assessor may carry out your programme induction and help you select your award and or units. Some assessors may also provide training and coaching, perhaps through the use of underpinning knowledge programmes.
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