Overview
Training Organisations have various responsibilities following registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments frequently stands out. While we've discussed validation in many publications, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment review as granular review of the evaluation 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 SRTOs 2015, 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 mandate two types of validation. The primary type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the rule, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the implementation, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials immediately to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Update your resources
- Integrate 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products 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 Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address course unit requirements.
Assessment 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 ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Common Pitfalls
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 Nothing Competence
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must cover all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.
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 evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier click here for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these assurances, 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 recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.