Overview of Assessment Validation
Training Organisations are responsible for numerous tasks after becoming registered, including annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Principally, assessment review is concerned with identifying 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, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The standards specify two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new resources right away to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Upgrade your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Spot 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.
Which Training Products Should You Validate?
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and templates designed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and comply with course unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Updated 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
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: 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?
Evidence Rules
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the RTO assessment validation checklist originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- 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 criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. 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 Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each assessment item must cover all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or evaluators.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a preventative 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 valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.