Overview
Training Organisations handle numerous tasks upon registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Principally, validation of assessments 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, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The regulations require two types of validation. The primary type of assessment review checks conformity 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 implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the first part of the regulation, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new materials as soon as possible to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Audit 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?
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and forms designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and comply with unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 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 evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Appropriateness: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge get more info required?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- 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 requirement is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. 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 Nothing Competence
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each assessment task must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not mislead students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.
Assurance During Audits
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 preventative and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.