Mapping assessments

There are two approaches to mapping; 1. As you develop the assessments, 2. Mapping existing assessments. The approaches have a slight difference in the process, but the end results should be the same. I’d like to cover mapping existing assessments, as that is often the hardest to achieve.

Mapping existing assessments:

1. Prepare all of your assessment documentation. Usually, this means having all of your electronic versions available on a computer, or having hard copies out on a clear workspace. Documents include your assessment plan (or TAS), assessment instruments and marking guides. You may also want to include past validation reports, student samples, or assessor and candidate instructions – if available.
2. Prepare a mapping document. This is the document where you will record the location of each component of your assessment tool against the unit/s of competency. To do this, simply cut and paste a copy of the unit/s onto a blank document, including the knowledge and performance evidence, and the foundation skills sections where available. Create a table from the unit, allowing a number of columns to the right of each performance criterion and evidence statement to record the various entries you will make. For example:

3. Carefully go through each performance criterion, knowledge and performance evidence statement and foundation skill to locate where – in your assessment tools – you have covered this sufficiently (or partially). ‘Covered’ means that the questions or activity is likely to generate evidence that would meet the intention of that criterion.

4. Where the criterion is covered, add the task/question or other relevant reference number to the coinciding column. For example, if Criterion 1.1 (below) is covered in a selection of tasks and questions, you could write tasks 3.1, 3.2 and project 2.

5. When all of the various components of the unit/s are covered, your mapping is completed. Where you are unable to map any specific criterion, this would be referred to a validation for work to be completed to correct that gap.

6. A good rule of thumb is that all criteria should be covered by at least one assessment item -perfereably more. Performance evidence should be covered by practical skills tasks (this could also mean projects, portfolios of evidence as well as direct observations). Knowledge evidence must be covered by knowledge questions explicitly. These can be verbal or written, but must clearly cover each knowledge evidence component.

7. Finally, check the assessment guidelines to ensure sufficient evidence is being captured in your assessment tools. Where two or more examples of something are required, make sure there are assessment instruments that capture each performance of the task. When in doubt, it’s always better to have more assessment than not enough.