Is this another one of those terms you’ve heard but are still not quite sure what it means?
Simply put, standardisation is an activity that verifies the delivery, assessment and internal quality assurance practices within a centre are consistent. It ensures that all learners have equal access and opportunity to achieve and that one assessor is not expecting learners to meet a higher standard than another assessor for the same qualification.
The standardisation activity should be documented. It would usually take the form of meetings (recorded with minutes) between tutors, assessors and quality assurers to discuss a qualification. More specifically, they might discuss its content, specific units, suitable assessment methods and what the qualification is asking for.
A typical agenda for a standardisation meeting may include:
- record the date and attendees.
- actions set from previous meetings and the outcomes of these.
- internal or external quality assurance comments - has good practice been identified? Have developmental actions or advice and guidance been set? If so, what actions need to be set to meet requirements or improve practice?
- regulatory or sector updates.
- the learners – who is on programme? Are they on target to achieve? Can they be supported further?
- use sampling activity and examples of learner work to discuss delivery/assessment activity – have any trends been identified? Are all assessors expecting learners to meet a consistent standard?
- future actions and the next meeting date.
However, standardisation can take other forms. In some instances, it can be displayed through IQA practices, where all assessors are shown to meet the same standard or understand the same principle within a qualification. Alternatively, it could be evidenced through communications within a centre that show all personnel have understood and implemented a new way of working.
Ultimately, we expect all personnel to undertake standardisation activity for a qualification at least once every 12 months. This evidence should be submitted with the learner work a centre submits for sampling.