Your Progress

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Looking at assessors and assessment
The internal verifier must ensure that all assessors and teachers are suitably qualified to assess the course they are assessing. Staff should hold either a basic teaching qualification depending on the course or any assessor qualification or be working towards a recognised qualification (Evidence of this will be in staff CVs and in the Centre course file).

Internal verifiers are responsible for checking that all staff are designing assessments which meet the learning outcomes for whatever course they are designed for. They should also check the marking criteria on which the assessments are going to be marked internal verifiers should ask the following questions:
– Is the assessment task fit for purpose?
– Does it allow candidates to produce enough evidence to ensure adequate coverage of type learning outcomes for each unit?
– Enable students to achieve higher grades (i.e. merit or distinction)?
– Does it help all assessors of all candidates to make reliable assessment decisions where the same assessment task has beenused?
– Are all assignments presented in a common format and are the learning outcomes for the unit clearly identified?
– Over the course are there a variety of assessment methods to challenge and stimulate students to develop common skills? (This part of the process should start as early as possible before the students have been given the assignment tasks)

Records should be kept

Making a verification plan
The internal verifier will set up a plan of when and who are they going to verify work. To do this the verifier needs to know:
1. Which member of staff will be teaching which unit and when they will be teaching that unit
2. The names of all the students on the course and which units they will be taking when

Selecting a sample
The sample should cover all learners on the programme and all tutors. As a general rule a sampling frame should be no less than 20 per cent of all the internally assessed work. If a new tutor has been assigned to the course all his/her work should be internally verified in the first year.Good practice also states that all the work for a new course should be internally verified.

An internal verifier cannot internally verify his/her own work

Verifying the learners work
When the sample has been chosen the internal verification takes place. The internal verifier should be looking to ensure that work is marked according to the marking criteria and to check the interpretation of the learning outcomes.The internal verifier should also check the tutor feedback to ensure it is constructive and helpful to the students. They must ensure consistency across the programme.

Recording the outcomes
Records of internal verification should be kept in a course file and be accessible to the external quality assurer/verifier. The internal verifier should discuss the results of internal verification with the assessor. Action should be taken to rectify any problems highlighted by the verification process. If a training need has been identified action should be taken. Both the internal verifier and the assessor should sign the verification report, and agree any action that has been highlighted. The verification reports should be discussed by the course team at the course team meetings these meetings should be recorded and kept in the course file.