Introduction
Registered Training Organisations handle multiple duties upon registration, which include yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validating assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple articles, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.
Essentially, assessment review is dedicated to identifying 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 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 standards mandate two types of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—validation of assessment tools.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the first part of the clause, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the implementation, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new materials as soon as possible to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to do this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Upgrade your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.
Training Products Requiring Validation
Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and comply with unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your validation 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 credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Rules of 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?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Frequent Errors
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing 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 is not sufficient.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
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 trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately assess student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait until an audit to click here address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.