Overview of Assessment Validation
RTOs have numerous responsibilities post-registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several discussions, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment validation as granular review of the evaluation process.
Essentially, assessment review is intended 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 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 mandate two types of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments are conducted according 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 concentrate on the first type—validation of assessment tools.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the first part of the clause, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The goal of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all components, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new materials as soon as possible to verify they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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?
Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and address subject requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Standard 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 evaluators to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials 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?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- 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: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements 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:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies read more and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Common Pitfalls
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., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must meet all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is out of compliance.
Be Specific!
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not baffle students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using 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 learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, 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 guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.