Skill assessment

Last updated

Competence assessment is a process in which evidence is gathered by the assessor and evaluated against agreed criteria in order to make a judgement of competence. Skill assessment is the comparison of actual performance of a skill with the specified standard for performance of that skill under the circumstances specified by the standard, and evaluation of whether the performance meets or exceed the requirements. Assessment of a skill should comply with the four principles of validity, reliability, fairness and flexibility.

Contents

Formative assessment provides feedback for remedial work and coaching, while summative assessment checks whether the competence has been achieved at the end of training. Assessment of combinations of skills and their foundational knowledge may provide greater efficiency, and in some cases competence in one skill my imply competence in other skills. The thoroughness rewired of assessment may depend on the consequences of occasional poor performance.

Principles of assessment

Validity

Validity is the primary requirement. If the assessment is not valid, then the other characteristics are irrelevant. Validity means that an assessment process effectively assesses what it is claimed and intended to assess. To achieve this the assessment tools must address all requirements of the standard to the appropriate depth (neither too much nor too little) and be repeated often enough to ensure that the required performance is repeatable. [1]

The training standard that specifies the competency is the benchmark for assessment, and to be valid the assessment must comply exactly with its requirements, so that nothing required by the standard is omitted, and nothing that is not required is included. [1]

The assessment tools for a skill therefore need to be designed so that they allow the skill to be tested in compliance with the requirements of the standard. It can be useful to map the assessment tools to the specific competences to ensure that they cover the full scope of the standard. [1]

There may be a requirement for periodical validation of assessment tools. This process generally involves mapping the tools against the standard and checking that the tools comply with the other principles of assessment and the rules of evidence. [1]

Reliability

After validity, reliability is essential. A reliable assessment is one where the evidence elicited and interpretation of evidence is consistent with the skill required, so that the assessment consistently produces outcomes that are compliant with the standard. The assessment decision of a given observed performance should not vary for different assessors. The same evidence should lead to the same outcome. [2]

To achieve this, the assessment tool must provide sufficient guidance for the assessor. In practice the assessment instrument provided to the candidate should be paired with an assessor guide which provides instructions to the assessor to guide their judgement of satisfactory performance or acceptable answers to questions. [2]

Fairness

To be fair the assessment process must be clearly understood by the candidates, and there must be agreement by both assessors and candidates that candidates’ reasonable needs circumstances are addressed. [3]

The assessment tool can provide evidence that the process is understood and accepted by the candidate, by having a place where a statement to this effect is signed by the candidate at the start of the assessment. A further statement that the assessor has checked with the candidate for any special circumstances or requirements can also be included. Reasonable adjustment must not compromise the validity or reliability of the assessment. [3]

Flexibility

Flexibility of assessment is desirable where reasonably practicable. This is a feature that should be inherent in the assessment tools for the skill, and should take into account the expected variability of circumstances, including variations in candidates, equipment, location, environmental conditions and other things not entirely under the control of the assessor, but within the scope of the competence requirements. Flexibility does not imply bending the rules, or failing to comply with the specifications of the standards. All performance criteria must be addressed. [4]

Types of assessment

Formative assessments are formal and informal tests, tasks, quizzes, discussions or observations taken during the learning process. These assessments identify strengths and weaknesses and provide feedback to modify the consequent learning activities to facilitate efficient learning and skill development.

Summative assessments evaluate skills at or after the end of an instructional unit, to ensure that competence has been achieved. At this point remedial work may no longer be practicable.

Integrated assessment is part of the learning and teaching process, and can take place at various stages of a learning programme. Assessments may combine assessment of theory and practice. Some skills may need separate and specific assessment, but others can be combined for efficiency. [5]

Assessment is not an event that only occurs at the end of training, it is most effective when continuous and when providing constant feedback on progress and problems, allowing timely intervention where useful. In many cases a sample of evidence is sufficient to infer competence over a fairly large range, as competence in a skill that requires competence in other skills may be a proxy for those more foundational skills. [5]

Comprehensive planning is usually necessary to produce robust assessment tools that suit the training programme and do justice to both the training standard and the learners. [5]

Assessment methods

Assessment of practical skills is usually best done by direct observation of performance in conditions as close as reasonably practicable to the circumstances in which the skill would normally be practiced. Where this is not reasonably practicable, simulations may be appropriate, to whatever level of accuracy is available. Assessment of realistic combinations of skills may save a lot of time, and scenarios may be devised that allow simultaneous and sequential assessments of several skill in one assessment session.

The number of repetitions required will also depend on how critical the skill is considered to be. A single successful demonstration may be sufficient to show that the candidate can perform a task when the consequences are minor. Several sequential faultless performances may be required if another person's life will depend on correct performance.

Assessment tools for practical skills may describe a task to be done, and the assessors guide should generally list the stages of the task and the details the assessor should check off as they are done. Where order is important, this should be mentioned. A checklist may be provided as permanent record, or a video may be taken. In some cases there will be a product which can be retained as long term evidence along with the paperwork or database records.

See also

Related Research Articles

Educational assessment or educational evaluation is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data on the knowledge, skill, attitudes, aptitude and beliefs to refine programs and improve student learning. Assessment data can be obtained from directly examining student work to assess the achievement of learning outcomes or can be based on data from which one can make inferences about learning. Assessment is often used interchangeably with test, but not limited to tests. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community, a course, an academic program, the institution, or the educational system as a whole. The word 'assessment' came into use in an educational context after the Second World War.

ISO/IEC 15504Information technology – Process assessment, also termed Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPICE), is a set of technical standards documents for the computer software development process and related business management functions. It is one of the joint International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, which was developed by the ISO and IEC joint subcommittee, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7.

An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is an approach to the assessment of clinical competence in which the components are assessed in a planned or structured way with attention being paid to the objectivity of the examination which is basically an organization framework consisting of multiple stations around which students rotate and at which students perform and are assessed on specific tasks. OSCE is a modern type of examination often used for assessment in health care disciplines.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL), prior learning assessment (PLA), or prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR), describes a process used by regulatory bodies, adult learning centres, career development practitioners, military organizations, human resources professionals, employers, training institutions, colleges and universities around the world to evaluate skills and knowledge acquired outside the classroom for the purpose of recognizing competence against a given set of standards, competencies, or learning outcomes. RPL is practiced in many countries for a variety of purposes, for example an individual's standing in a profession, trades qualifications, academic achievement, recruitment, performance management, career and succession planning.

Competence is the set of demonstrable characteristics and skills that enable and improve the efficiency or performance of a job. Competency is a series of knowledge, abilities, skills, experiences and behaviors, which leads to effective performance in an individual's activities. Competency is measurable and can be developed through training.

Career assessments are tools that are designed to help individuals understand how a variety of personal attributes, impact their potential success and satisfaction with different career options and work environments. Career assessments have played a critical role in career development and the economy in the 20th century. Individuals or organizations often use assessment of some or all of these attributes, such as university career service centers, career counselors, outplacement companies, corporate human resources staff, executive coaches, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and guidance counselors to help individuals make more informed career decisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific diving</span> Use of diving techniques in the pursuit of scientific knowledge

Scientific diving is the use of underwater diving techniques by scientists to perform work underwater in the direct pursuit of scientific knowledge. The legal definition of scientific diving varies by jurisdiction. Scientific divers are normally qualified scientists first and divers second, who use diving equipment and techniques as their way to get to the location of their fieldwork. The direct observation and manipulation of marine habitats afforded to scuba-equipped scientists have transformed the marine sciences generally, and marine biology and marine chemistry in particular. Underwater archeology and geology are other examples of sciences pursued underwater. Some scientific diving is carried out by universities in support of undergraduate or postgraduate research programs, and government bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the UK Environment Agency carry out scientific diving to recover samples of water, marine organisms and sea, lake or riverbed material to examine for signs of pollution.

Competencymanagement systems are usually associated with, and may include, a learning management system (LMS). The LMS is typically a web-based tool that allows access to learning resources. Competency Management Systems tend to have a more multidimensional and comprehensive approach and include tools such as competency management, skills-gap analysis, succession planning, as well as competency analysis and profiling. The CompMS tends to focus more on creating an environment of sustainable competency in addition to entering and tracking learning resources in software. However, conceptually, there is no reason why a CompMS or LMS could not be manual and indeed learning management systems are as old as learning institutions.

ISO/IEC 27006 is an information security standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Part of the ISO/IEC 27000 series of ISO/IEC Information Security Management System (ISMS) standards, it is titled Information technology - Security techniques - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of information security management systems.

ISO/IEC 17024: Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons is an ISO/IEC standard which specifies criteria for the operation of a personnel certification body. The standard includes requirements for the development and maintenance of the certification scheme for persons upon which the certification is based.

A training package is a set of nationally endorsed training standards, qualifications and guidelines in Australia.

Competency-based recruitment is a process of recruitment based on the ability of candidates to produce anecdotes about their professional experience which can be used as evidence that the candidate has a given competency. Candidates demonstrate competencies on the application form, and then in the interview, which in this case is known as a competency-based interview.

Potential analysis describes the structural examination of specific characteristics and competencies. Potential analyses provide information about abilities of employees, future events, methods or organizations. Due to that the analysis of the branch of production, the financial sphere, the research & development and the human resources is differentiated.

Individual psychological assessment (IPA) is a tool used by organizations to make decisions on employment. IPA allows employers to evaluate and maintain potential candidates for hiring, promotion, and development by using a series of job analysis instruments such as position analysis questionnaires (PAQ), occupational analysis inventory (OAI), and functional job analysis (FJA). These instruments allow the assessor to develop valid measures of intelligence, personality tests, and a range of other factors as means to determine selection and promotion decisions. Personality and cognitive ability are good predictors of performance. Emotional Intelligence helps individuals navigate through challenging organizational and interpersonal encounters. Since individual differences have a long history in explaining human behavior and the different ways in which individuals respond to similar events and circumstances, these factors allow the organization to determine if an applicant has the competence to effectively and successfully do the work that the job requires. These assessments are administered throughout organizations in different forms, but they share one common goal in the selection process, and that is the right candidate for the job.

Human factors are the physical or cognitive properties of individuals, or social behavior which is specific to humans, and influence functioning of technological systems as well as human-environment equilibria. The safety of underwater diving operations can be improved by reducing the frequency of human error and the consequences when it does occur. Human error can be defined as an individual's deviation from acceptable or desirable practice which culminates in undesirable or unexpected results.

Dive safety is primarily a function of four factors: the environment, equipment, individual diver performance and dive team performance. The water is a harsh and alien environment which can impose severe physical and psychological stress on a diver. The remaining factors must be controlled and coordinated so the diver can overcome the stresses imposed by the underwater environment and work safely. Diving equipment is crucial because it provides life support to the diver, but the majority of dive accidents are caused by individual diver panic and an associated degradation of the individual diver's performance. - M.A. Blumenberg, 1996

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diver training</span> Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely underwater

Diver training is the set of processes through which a person learns the necessary and desirable skills to safely dive underwater within the scope of the diver training standard relevant to the specific training programme. Most diver training follows procedures and schedules laid down in the associated training standard, in a formal training programme, and includes relevant foundational knowledge of the underlying theory, including some basic physics, physiology and environmental information, practical skills training in the selection and safe use of the associated equipment in the specified underwater environment, and assessment of the required skills and knowledge deemed necessary by the certification agency to allow the newly certified diver to dive within the specified range of conditions at an acceptable level of risk. Recognition of prior learning is allowed in some training standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diving instructor</span> Person who trains and assesses underwater divers

A diving instructor is a person who trains and usually also assesses competence of underwater divers. This includes freedivers, recreational divers including the subcategory technical divers, and professional divers which includes military, commercial, public safety and scientific divers.

Commercial divers as defined in the Diving Regulations to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 are required to be registered with the Department of Employment and Labour. The Department of Employment and Labour has jurisdiction only within the national borders of South Africa, and therefore registered diving schools are required to operate within the borders of South Africa where the Diving Regulations apply. A registered diving school is required to comply with the Code of Practice for Commercial Diver Training, and the training standards published by the department for divers, supervisors and instructors respectively.

A diver training standard is a document issued by a certification, registration regulation or quality assurance agency, that describes the prerequisites for participation, the aim of the training programme, the specific minimum competences that a candidate must display to be assessed as competent, and the minimum required experience that must be recorded before the candidate can be registered or certified at a specific grade by the agency. A standard is a description of the quality required of a product, or a way of doing something that has usually been derived from the experience of experts in a specific field. The purpose is to provide a reliable method for people to share a reasonably consistent expectation regarding the scope and quality of the product or service. Training standards allow objective comparison between the training provided by various agencies and the competence indicated by certification or registration to the specific standard, though in most cases, training and competence may exceed the minimum requirement much of the time, and variation between newly certified divers can be considerable, partly due to differences in the training, and partly due to qualities of the candidate. Training standards may narrowly prescribe the training, or may concentrate on assessment of exit level competence, and allow recognition of prior learning based on various forms of evidence. To be useful, a training standard must be sufficiently specific to allow agreement on the requirements by most readers reasonably competent in the field, including the instructors, assessors, and learners who must use it, the employers of persons trained, the potential customers, and any quality assurance personnel who may need to enforce it. A training standard may be linked to a code of practice referring to how the training should be carried out.

Recreational scuba certification levels are the levels of skill represented by recreational scuba certification. Each certification level is associated with a specific training standard published by the certification agency, and a training programme associated with the standard., though in some cases recognition of prior learning can apply. These levels of skill can be categorised in several ways:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Welton, Sandy (10 May 2017). "Principles of Assessment – Part 4 (Validity)". International Teacher Training Academy, Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 Welton, Sandy (21 April 2017). "Principles of Assessment – Part 1 (Reliability)". International Teacher Training Academy, Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 Welton, Sandy (26 April 2017). "Principles of Assessment – Part 2 (Fairness)". International Teacher Training Academy, Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  4. ↑ Welton, Sandy (3 May 2017). "Principles of Assessment – Part 3 (Flexibility)". International Teacher Training Academy, Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Guidelines for Integrated Assessment" (PDF). South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Retrieved 25 January 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.