Assessment Validation Overview
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have numerous duties post-registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.
At its core, assessment review is dedicated to identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation process are effective and which need improvement. With a proper grasp of its key aspects, validation becomes less daunting. According to Clause 1.8 of the SRTOs 2015 regulations, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The rules require two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Overview of Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the regulation, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Best Time for Conducting Assessment
The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new tools right away to verify they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Flag your learning resources as a risk during your risk assessment
ASQA uses a risk-based approach for regulating RTOs and requires regular risk assessments. Therefore, student complaints about learning resources are an ideal time to conduct assessment tool validation.
What Training Products Need Validation?
Keep in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item awesome site are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and meet course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Relevance: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Typical Mistakes
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care demands the students to complete the tasks at least once on two different babies under 12 months of age. Having students complete the tasks listed twice on just one baby is not sufficient.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must address all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or trainers.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.