Overview
Registered Training Organisations are responsible for multiple obligations upon registration, which include yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.
Fundamentally, assessment validation is dedicated to 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 SRTOs 2015, 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 regulations mandate two types of validation. The first type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments follow the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the primary part of the rule, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the implementation, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new resources immediately to verify they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Spot 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and forms designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and comply with course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications 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:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
Typical Mistakes
Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess theoretical understanding (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 Baby and Toddler Care 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.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment task must meet all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation 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 directions do not mislead students or assessors.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees get more info for audits?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.