POLICY ON WORKPLACE ASSESSMENT AND MODERATION

CONTENTS:

1Introduction

2Introduction to workplace assessment

2.1Integrated assessment

2.2Recognition of achievements

2.3Access, progression, portability, and articulation

2.4Recognition of prior learning (RPL)

2.5Legitimacy and credibility

2.6Flexibility

2.7Guidance of learners

3Assuring the quality of workplace assessment

4Stringent registration of workplace assessors

4.1Definition

4.2The quality of the workplace assessment in the banking sector

4.3Training of assessors in the banking sector

4.4Selection of assessors in the banking sector

5Moderation within the banking sector

5.1Introduction

5.2Cross-sectoral moderation

5.3External moderation by the BANKSETA ETQA

5.4Moderation within constituent provider organisations

5.5Reporting by organisations on moderation

5.6Auditing of moderation and assessment in organisations

5.7The registration of moderators

5.8Moderation on appeal

6Reporting and auditing dimensions

6.1Fairness

6.1.1Conforming requirements

6.1.2Evidence required

6.2Validity

6.2.1Conforming guideline

6.2.2Evidence required

6.3Reliability

6.3.1Conforming requirement

6.3.2Evidence required

6.4Practicability

6.4.1Conforming guideline

6.4.2Evidence required

6.5Recognition of prior learning

6.5.1Conforming guideline

6.6Workplace assessment methods

6.6.1Flexibility

6.6.1.1Conforming guideline

6.6.1.2Evidence required

6.6.2Appropriateness

6.6.2.1Conforming guideline

6.6.2.2Evidence required

6.7Assessment evidence

6.7.1Validity

6.7.1.1Conforming guideline

6.7.1.2Evidence required

6.7.2Sufficiency

6.7.2.1Conforming guideline

6.7.2.2Evidence required

6.7.3Authenticity

6.7.3.1Conforming guideline

6.7.3.2Evidence required

6.7.4Currency

6.7.4.1Conforming guideline

6.7.4.2Evidence required

6.8Formative and summative assessment

6.8.1Formative assessment

6.8.1.1Conforming guideline

6.8.1.2Evidence required

6.8.2Summative assessment

6.8.2.1Conforming guideline

6.8.2.2Evidence required

6.9Storing evidence

6.9.1Conforming guideline

6.9.2Evidence required

6.10Assessment policy document

6.11Moderation policy document

6.11.1The management structure

6.11.2Components of the moderation system

6.11.3Moderation methods

1.INTRODUCTION TO THIS DOCUMENT

The South African Qualifications Authority Act of 1995 is the basis for a common understanding of quality within the context of both the National Qualifications Framework and its agency, the South African Qualifications Authority, which is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework. Section 2 of this legislation states: The objectives of the NQF are to - (a) create an integrated national framework for learning achievements; (b) facilitate access to, and mobility and progression within, education, training and career paths; (c) enhance the quality of education and training; (d) accelerate the redress of past unfair discrimination in education, training and employment opportunities; and thereby (e) contribute to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of the nation at large. These objectives encapsulate a number of key principles that underpin the National Qualifications Framework: integration, access, mobility, progression, quality, redress and development (both of the individual and of society). It is these objectives, and the principles embedded in them, that constitute the quality indicators for the national outcomes and requirements of the NQF.

The total quality system for the National Qualifications Framework and its enabling structures begin with the separation of standards-setting and quality assurance functions as specified in Section 5 of the South African Qualifications Authority Act of 1995. The legislation states that the South African Qualifications Authority shall: (1) (a) (i) oversee the development of the National Qualifications Framework and (ii) formulate and publish policies and criteria for - (aa) the registration of bodies responsible for establishing education and training standards and qualifications; and (bb) the accreditation of bodies responsible for monitoring and auditing achievements in terms of such standards or qualifications; (1) (b) oversee the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework; including - (i) the registration or accreditation of bodies referred to in paragraph (a) and the assignment of functions to them; (ii) the registration of national standards and qualifications; (iii) steps to ensure compliance with provision for accreditation; and (iv) steps to ensure that standards and registered qualifications are internationally comparable; (1) (c) advise the Minister on matters affecting the registration of standards and qualifications….

Implicit in the South African Qualification Authority's implementation of the quality system, and therefore in the implementation of the quality system used in the BANKSETA ETQA, is the understanding that quality assurance, quality management and accreditation are not things or products; rather quality should be seen as a process. The BANKSETA ETQA quality management system, like the South African Qualifications Authority's quality management system, therefore, includes a system of linkages and feedback loops within the framework of products and processes. ETQAs are required to demonstrate continuing self-evaluation and developmental approaches to improving the quality of learning provision and the review of learning provision, for review by SAQA from time to time.

The central mechanism which allows the standards-setting and quality assurance processes envisaged in the legislation and participated in by the BANKSETA ETQA to act together to ensure the quality of unit standards and qualifications registered and achieved is the form in which these are registered on the National Qualifications Framework. The form in which unit standards and qualifications are described and registered has to enable all the learning delivery, assessment and certification structures and processes to implement the outcomes and requirements developed through standards-generating bodies and national standards bodies. The assessment, moderation and accreditation criteria developed for each unit standard and qualification are the critical elements in the form for quality assurance. The BANKSETA ETQA will conduct its assurance of learning achievementsin accordance with these criteria and ensure that they interface with standards-setting processes in an unambiguous and clear manner.

Both the process of drafting unit standards and qualifications is the same as the process of managing the quality issues related to the awarding of unit standards and qualifications relate to quality management, but they remain separate processes. The South African Qualifications Authority Act and the subsequently-promulgated regulations for ETQAs clearly separate the structures and functions of standards-setting and quality assurance. Chapter 6 of the ETQA Regulations clearly distinguishes between accrediting, moderating and standards-setting activities. The BANKSETA ETQA facilitates and actively participates in the relevant standards-generating bodies.

While the processes are separate, the ETQA has clear roles and duties in respect of each. The specification of criteria by which the South African Qualifications Authority accredits the BANKSETA ETQA is bound by the statutory requirements captured in Section 5 of the South African Qualifications Authority Act of 1995: 5 (2) The [South African Qualifications] Authority shall pursue the objectives of the National Qualifications Framework as provided in Section 2 and execute the functions of the Authority as provided in sub-section 5 (1) - (a) after consultation and in co-operation with departments of state, statutory bodies, companies, bodies and institutions responsible for education, training and the certification of standards which will be affected by the National Qualifications Framework; and (b) with due regard for the respective competence of Parliament and the provincial legislatures in terms of Section 1 - 6 of the Constitution, and the rights, powers and functions of the governing bodies of a university or universities and a technikon or technikons as provided in any Act of Parliament.

The powers and duties spoken of in the previous paragraph vest in the South African Qualifications Authority itself but are transferred to the relevant education and training quality assurance body responsible for monitoring and auditing the provision and achievement of standards and qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework. The ETQA Regulations, which were gazetted by the South African Qualifications Authority in accordance with section 5 and 15 of the South African Qualifications Authority Act of 1995, specify that: There shall be bodies responsible for monitoring and auditing achievements in terms of the standards or qualifications registered on the NQF; and that such bodies shall be (a) accredited and their activities monitored to determine and demonstrate to compliance with SAQA requirements; (b) established under relevant legislation and accredited by SAQA with due regard for the Constitution, Parliamentary and provincial powers and in consultation with National Education and Training stakeholder representatives; and (c) accredited with due regard for any accreditation functions shared with other and current statutory bodies in the education and training system.

The BANKSETA ETQA is inextricably tied to the broader banking and micro-finance sector. The ETQA Regulations provide that the BANKSETA ETQA must ensure that 3 (2) (b) it has a primary focus for its quality assurance activities based upon its association with the identified sector and the identified mission of that sector. "Primary focus" is defined in the ETQA Regulations as that activity or objective within the sector upon which an organisation or body concentrates its efforts. The primary focus of the BANKSETA ETQA will be the broader banking and micro-finance sector, as demarcated in the pertinent regulations. Moreover, it is the consensus of the members of the broader banking and micro-finance sector primarily involved in the implementation of the SAQA Act of 1995 and the Skills Development Act of 1998 in that sector that the BANKSETA ETQA shall be the principal ETQA in the banking sector, and that all other ETQAs operating in the banking sector shall do so as the agent of the BANKSETA ETQA.

There may be a need for more than one ETQA, but only provided that certain conditions are met. An ETQA may be accredited on condition that: 3 (2) (b) It has not duplicated the functions or parts of the functions of an existing Education and Training Quality Assurance Body unless the Authority deems such duplication or partial duplication necessary. The BANKSETA ETQA is cognisant that an operational principle of maximum coherence and minimum duplication has been adopted by the South African Qualifications Authority for evaluating ETQA applications and allocating National Qualifications Framework standards and qualifications, as part of the primary focus submission to ETQAs. It is therefore made explicit and repeated that the BANKSETA ETQA shall be the principal ETQA in the broader banking and micro-finance sector, and it is made explicit that there is no perception of any need for overlapping ETQAs in the broader banking and micro-finance sector.

In the broader banking and micro-finance sector, it has been thought appropriate to separate the quality-related aspects of workplace assessment and moderation from the rest of the quality management system to some extent. This is because many of the other elements of the quality management system pertain to best practice worldwide in human resources development. They are therefore dictated by good sense and competitive imperative. The assessment and moderation process is a little different, because it is best understood as relating directly to the broader National Qualifications Framework initiative. Both issues naturally relate to quality, so the separation should not be thought of as an absolute one, and anyone who reads through the quality management system for the BANKSETA ETQA will soon conclude that the effect of addressing workplace assessment and moderation in detail separately is not to create an unnecessary division, but rather to ensure that sufficient attention will be paid to both the more generic aspects of quality in human resources development management and to the crucial issue of workplace assessment and moderation.

The purpose of the BANKSETA ETQA is not to impose unnecessary encumbrances on training and education in the broader banking and micro-finance sector, but rather to work with constituent provider organisations of that sector in order to help them to pursue competitiveness through the training and education of their people by assisting them in complying with the requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority, and also with the dictates of good sense.

2INTRODUCTION TO WORKPLACE ASSESSMENT

The primary goal of the workplace assessment process is to provide competent employees through a continuous process of assessment and development by ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and achievement of strategic objectives. We are talking here of assessment in relation to generic industry standards captured in the form of registered unit standards, which measure the competence achieved by a learner as a result of his/her learning endeavours. "Workplace assessment" therefore is different from other assessment processes inasmuch as it considers the learner in the workplace and in particular his/her learning in the workplace. From a purist's point of view, workplace assessment does not really provide competent employees. Sound human resources management practice, including training and development, does that. However, workplace assessment does give learners, through the qualifications available to them, a stake in their own learning, and in that sense encourages them to pursue competence, because recognition of competence is available.

Workplace assessment therefore is a category of assessment relating to education and training, and relating specifically to the outcomes achieved by education and training. In that sense, workplace assessment is intrinsically tied to the philosophy of outcomes-based education. In general, assessment in education and training is about collecting evidence of learners' work so that judgements about learners’ achievements or non-achievements can be made and decisions arrived at.

Workplace assessment in outcomes-based education and training lays emphasis on the assessment of outputs and end products, which are in the form of outcomes and competence. The workplace assessment of the achievement or non-achievement of outcomes and competence is done against assessment criteria. The sum of outcomes, competence and workplace assessment criteria together are a statement of the standard that the learners are expected to achieve, and therefore are assessed against in the process of workplace assessment. These terms as employed in this paragraph return throughout this text, and are intended in the meaning outlined here.

In the language of SAQA, competence is really applied competence, which in turn is the union of practical competence, foundational competence and reflexive competence.

  • Practical competence is the demonstrated ability, in an authentic context, to consider a range of possibilities for action, make considered decisions about which to follow and to perform the chosen action.
  • Practical competence is grounded in foundational competence, by which the learner demonstrates an understanding of the knowledge and thinking which underpins the action taken.
  • Practical competence is integrated through reflexive competence, by which the learner demonstrates the ability to integrate or to nick performance and decision-making with understanding and an ability to adapt to change in unforeseen circumstances, appropriately and responsibly, and to explain the reason behind these adaptations.

Outcomes are statements regarding elements of competence. They are the demonstrable and assessable end products of a learning process. They go beyond the specification of subject content and can include reference to:

  • actions, roles, knowledge, understanding, skills, values, and attitudes that a learner has to perform to demonstrate competence;
  • the criteria against which these will be assessed; and
  • the particular context for performance of these and the workplace assessment of the performance of these elements.

Assessment criteria are statements that describe the standard to which learners must perform the actions, roles, knowledge, understanding, skills, values, and attitudes stated in the outcomes. They are a clear and transparent articulation of criteria against which successful (or unsuccessful) performance of these is assessed.

The assessment criteria should specify:

  • the knowledge, understanding, action(s), roles, skills, values and attitude that a learner needs to show in order to provide evidence that outcomes and competence have been achieved;
  • the level of complexity and quality of these; and
  • the context of and conditions under which demonstrations should occur.

Assessment criteria are statements by which a workplace assessor can judge whether the evidence provided by a learner is sufficient to demonstrate competent performance.

The standards are statements of expectation and/or aspiration. They provide a basis for the judgements or workplace assessments that are made regarding achievement or attainment. The standard in outcomes-based education and training usually resides in:

  • the statement of competence,
  • the statement of outcomes, and
  • the assessment criteria.

By specifying outcomes and assessment criteria, assessors and learners obtain clarity on the knowledge, understanding, behaviours, roles etc. which learners are expected to demonstrate and the tasks and activities which they will perform to demonstrate these. Specifying performance criteria assists learners and workplace assessors to know the level of complexity, quality, kinds and range of knowledge, understanding, performance, behaviours, roles etc. expected in demonstrating the achievements of outcomes and competence. They also indicate the range and kind of evidence which must be collected or submitted for assessment in the context of conditions under which assessment will occur. The explicit and transparent specification of competence, outcomes and assessment criteria is intended to ensure fairness. All learners must know what they are expected to demonstrate in order to be assessed as having achieved or not achieved the requisite standard.

Workplace assessment decisions are made in relation to learner competence and the quality of the learning programme.

  • Decisions to do with the learner:

* Is the learner able to do a certain job?

* Is the learner able to embark on a particular course of study?

* hat other learning does the learner need in order to be deemed qualified?

  • Decisions to do with the learning programme:

* What is the quality of the programme?

* What improvements or changes are needed?

As a rule, we speak of decisions to do with the employed learner as "workplace assessment" (regardless of whether it occurs at the work-site or not) and decisions to do with the learning programme as "training evaluation". The BANKSETA ETQA is of course concerned with both training evaluation and with workplace assessment, but the focus of this document falls on workplace assessment.

Workplace assessment is one of the means of implementing the NQF. A number of principles underpin the NQF, which in turn underpins workplace assessment policies and practices.

Underpinning NQF
principle / …implies that all learning anddevelopment…
1. integration / forms part of a system of human resources development which provides for the establishment of a unifying approach to education and training;
2. relevance / remains responsive to national development needs;
3. credibility / has international and national value and acceptance;
4. coherence / works within a consistent framework of principles and
certification;
5. flexibility / allows for multiple pathways to the same learning ends;
6. comparability
standards / is expressed in terms of a nationally agreed framework and internationally acceptable outcomes;
7. legitimacy / provides for the participation of all national stakeholders in the planning and co-ordination of standards and qualifications;
8. access / provides ease of entry to appropriate levels of education and training for all prospective learners in a manner which facilitates progression;
9. articulation / provides for learners, on successful completion of accredited prerequisites, to move between components of the delivery system;
10. progression / ensures that the framework of qualifications permits individuals to move through the levels of national qualifications via different appropriate combinations of the components of the delivery system;
11. portability / enables learners to transfer credits of qualifications from one learning institution and/or employer to another;
12. recognition of
prior learning / gives credit to learning which has already been acquired in different ways through assessment; and
13. guidance of
learners / provides for the counselling of learners by specially trained individuals who meet nationally recognised standards for educators and trainees.

The assessment policies, systems and procedures applicable to the BANKSETA ETQA are underpinned by these crucial principles of the National Qualifications Framework. This is true for all ETQAs nationwide; all are required to implement and oversee policies relating to workplace assessment (and moderation of that workplace assessment) to give effect to the broad philosophy of the NQF. The NQF principles guide workplace assessment policies, systems and procedures in the following ways: