{"schema_version":"ICEQC_NEWS_ARTICLE_V1","id":"iceqc-news-87088ae7bcfd539b","slug":"2022-10-13-consistency-in-the-assessment-of-digital-transformation","language":"en","publication_status":"PUBLISHED","publication_date":"2022-10-13","last_modified_date":"2022-10-13","title":"Consistency in the assessment of digital transformation","summary":"Explains consistency assessment in relation to digital transformation, covering scope, evidential sufficiency, accountable decisions and material limitations.","category":{"code":"STANDARDS_INTERPRETATION","label":"Standards Interpretation"},"article_type":"Standards interpretation","publisher":"International Council for Education Quality Certification (ICEQC)","jurisdictional_scope":"International","historical_reference_basis":"Transforming Education Summit action track","reference_authority":"United Nations","sections":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["In 2022, consideration of consistency in the assessment of digital transformation must take account of the transforming Education Summit action track and the responsibilities it places before education systems. Interpretation should begin with the intended outcome, then identify the controls and evidence needed to show that the outcome is achieved across the declared scope. The response should be proportionate to risk while preserving access, learning, fair treatment and reliable learner information."]},{"heading":"Applicable scope","paragraphs":["The reference point is the transforming Education Summit action track. Its wider significance does not replace evidence of how consistency in the assessment of digital transformation operates in the affected setting.","For digital transformation, the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022 brings together commitments on inclusive and equitable education, teachers, digital learning, finance and recovery. The action tracks are connected: technology or curriculum measures cannot compensate for insufficient teachers, unsafe provision or exclusion. Commitments should be translated into costed responsibilities, implementation milestones and evidence capable of showing effects on learning and participation.","In the context of digital transformation, responsibility should be identifiable at the point where consequential decisions are made. When examining digital transformation, conformity should not be inferred from a policy document alone; operating records and outcomes should show that the stated arrangements are in use.","Failure in relation to the stated expectation may arise even where the stated policy is reasonable. Material concerns include results used beyond the evidence they support, tasks that do not assess the stated outcome, reasonable adjustment altering the assessed outcome, and uncontrolled changes to assessment. For decisions concerning digital transformation, an exception should be assessed by effect, duration, recurrence and reach, including possible exposure beyond the initial sample.","In work concerning digital transformation, consistency does not require identical decisions regardless of context. It requires comparable matters to be treated on the same principles, with material differences explained by relevant evidence and recorded criteria.","Relevant evidence for the relevant requirement will normally include analysis of results and differential outcomes, appeal and correction records, moderation and exception records, authorship and identity controls proportionate to risk, and marking criteria and calibrated judgement. As regards digital transformation, currency, provenance and representativeness should be established before evidence is used for assurance. The record for digital transformation should retain disagreement between sources until its cause and effect are understood."]},{"heading":"Implementation and evidence","paragraphs":["Interpretation of consistency in the assessment of digital transformation should avoid two errors: treating a formal commitment as proof of effect, and treating one adverse case as proof that every part of the system has failed. Reliability without validity produces consistent but potentially irrelevant results. For the assessment of digital transformation, validity without adequate consistency may expose learners to unequal judgement. For digital transformation, an isolated example cannot establish consistent operation, and an isolated failure should be evaluated for materiality, recurrence and systemic effect.","The assurance record for the stated expectation should retain the date of the evidence, the source responsible for it, the scope examined and the version of any instrument or definition applied. In the context of digital transformation, the evidential history should preserve conclusions that were operative when a material decision was made."],"bullets":["Calibrate assessors.","Align tasks and criteria with learning outcomes.","Moderate material variation.","Review differential and anomalous results.","Control changes."]},{"heading":"Assessment of conformity","paragraphs":["Implementation of consistency in the assessment of digital transformation can be tested without imposing unnecessary reporting. Responsible bodies should use common definitions and decision criteria, calibrate responsible staff, review outliers and compare outcomes across locations and groups. Where variation is justified, retain the reason and verify that it is applied without arbitrary disadvantage. When examining digital transformation, information should not be treated as sufficient merely because it is already available; its relevance to the present question must be established.","Assurance concerning digital transformation should be expressed at the level established by the evidence."],"bullets":["Where are outcomes materially different?","Have decision-makers been calibrated?","Does review correct inconsistent treatment?","Are common criteria in use?","Is the reason relevant and documented?"]},{"heading":"Review and corrective action","paragraphs":["Accountability for consistency in the assessment of digital transformation should follow decision-making authority. In work concerning digital transformation, where work is delegated, the record should continue to identify who is accountable for material consequences to learners.","The quality significance of consistency in the assessment of digital transformation under review follows from a basic distinction between availability and effective provision. Assessment should provide valid and sufficiently consistent evidence that the stated learning outcomes have been achieved by the learner receiving the result. As regards digital transformation, review should cover the stages at which learners receive information, provision, assessment, support and remedy.","Where evidence concerning digital transformation cannot support assurance, the limitation should be reported and corrective work should remain open."]}],"word_count":773,"content_hash":"sha256-5de6f67dfa1282b2088d739b8f58416f1943a2fba4cabdb158855f738e05e344","seo_keywords":["consistency in the assessment of digital transformation","education quality standards","education quality","ICEQC"],"schema_type":"TechArticle"}