Intro to Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage many obligations after becoming registered, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in multiple articles, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment review as granular review of the evaluation process.
Fundamentally, assessment review is intended to identify which parts of an RTO's assessment 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, meet 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 primary type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the regulation, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new materials immediately to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Recognise 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?
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and comply with course unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- 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 an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
Frequent Errors
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.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit check it out requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care requires 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 Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment item must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not confuse students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide 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 proactive and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.