Overview of Assessment Validation
RTOs are responsible for numerous duties after becoming registered, such as yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in several publications, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.
At its core, assessment review is focused on identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the initial part of the regulation, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the execution, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new resources right away to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Recognise 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.
Training Products to Validate
Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before being used. 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 training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, registers, and templates created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and meet unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment 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 assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- Relevance: 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?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
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 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
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Frequent Errors
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 evaluate underlying 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 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 won’t cut it.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment 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 mislead students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler 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 promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a get more info 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 compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.