Intro to Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle numerous duties post-registration, including annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in several articles, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA identifies assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment process.
Basically, assessment validation is intended 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 standards specify two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Overview of Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new resources as soon as possible to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Update your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Identify 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.
What Training Products Need Validation?
Note that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and templates created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet subject requirements.
Validation Panel
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 read more or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
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?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: 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 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
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 doing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not mislead students or trainers.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.