Overview of Assessment Validation
RTOs handle various responsibilities after becoming registered, which include annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in several discussions, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment review as granular review of the assessment process.
Primarily, validation of assessments is intended to identify which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The regulations require two forms of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new resources immediately to ensure they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Update your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Identify 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.
Training Products to Validate
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and forms developed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and address unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in click here the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Key Considerations for 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 performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
Frequent Errors
Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be performing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 won’t cut it.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must cover all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.