Overview
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle many obligations following registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is notably challenging. While we've discussed validation in multiple articles, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
In essence, assessment validation is designed to identify 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 types of validation. The first type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the first type—validation of assessment tools.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the primary part of the regulation, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the implementation, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new tools as soon as possible to verify they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Detect your learning resources as a risk during your risk assessment
The Australian Skills Quality Authority employs a risk-based approach for regulating RTOs and expects regular risk assessments. Therefore, student complaints about learning resources are an ideal time to conduct assessment tool validation.
What Training Products Need Validation?
Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and evaluation templates designed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and comply with course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and get more info assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Common Pitfalls
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., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 calls for 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not mislead students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.