Intro to Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have multiple obligations post-registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in several articles, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as granular review of the assessment process.
At its core, 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, 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 regulations specify two forms of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees 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 discuss the first type—validation of assessment tools.
What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the initial part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new tools as soon as possible to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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 being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each 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 identifies which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and address subject requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation 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 sector experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Rules of Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks 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:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle find it here them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Frequent Errors
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., knowledge-based evidence), students should be doing 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 calls for 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 is not sufficient.
All or Not Competent
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 requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment task must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.