Maximising confidence in assessment decision-making:the issues

The purpose of this research is to investigate the existence of strategies for the verification and validation of assessment decisions currently being used by assessors in RTOs. Some of the research questions that are being addressed are: What factors contribute to the development of confidence in assessment decision-making? What strategies are assessors using to ensure that their judgments of competence are valid, reliable, fair and based on the collection of sufficient evidence? What strategies are registered training organisations using to support the verification and validation of assessment decisions and how cost effective are they? What quality assurance mechanisms do assessors, managers and ITABs consider essential, particularly with the implementation of training packages? The aims are to provide resources to support confident decision-making by assessors in VET. These will include guidelines and scenarios for the establishment of cost effective verification strategies for use by assessors, and strategies for RTOs to assure the quality of assessment decisions made by their assessors. The project has, therefore, a strong development element contained within it.