Introduction
Registered Training Organisations handle numerous obligations following registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
Primarily, assessment validation is designed 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, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The rules mandate two forms of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new resources immediately to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Note that this validation ensures compliance of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: 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 evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Important Factors in 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 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement 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 them
- 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 specification is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must address all requirements, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is not compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not baffle students or evaluators.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately assess student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, check here you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.