Rules of Evidence

There are six rules of evidence:

Firstly, the evidence must be valid . This means that it must demonstrate what it claims to. For example, if a learner presented you with evidence of their skills in nappy changing to demonstrate competence in producing a business document, that evidence would not be valid.

Next, evidence must be authentic , meaning that you must be sure the evidence is the learner's own work. This is easier to do in a situation where you can see the person producing the work - for example, during a demonstration. However, in a skills recognition scenario or if you're using a third party report, you will need to be able to contact witnesses, like workplace supervisors, to verify that examples provided are authentic.

It is essential that evidence is consistent - i.e., representative of a period of time rather than one specific instance. So evidence provided, via a portfolio for example, should show a consistent standard over an appropriate time frame. You can use dates on portfolio items to help reference this.

There must be sufficient evidence - enough volume of evidence to be able to make an accurate assessment. So one or two work samples would not be regarded as sufficient. However, those same work samples combined with assessor observation, witness testimony and some questioning or process demonstrations will allow a much more accurate assessment to be made.

How current the evidence is in the fifth rule. Evidence provided must be recent enough to prove that the learner has up to date skills in the competencies being assessed. Currency may vary across industry areas, so some judgement is required. For example, multimedia is a rapidly changing industry with new technology being used all the time, so a person's competency in that area would need to be extremely current.

Finally, is the evidence reliable ? Has it come from a reliable and verifiable source? Your evidence should be from someone who has technical knowledge of the job role and be able to demonstrate an ethical and appropriate relationship to the learner.