Intro to Assessment Validation
RTOs handle multiple duties upon registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation is notably challenging. While validation has been covered in multiple articles, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment validation as granular review of the evaluation process.
Essentially, assessment review is dedicated to identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment methods 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 regulations, 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 rules require two types of validation. The initial type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Understanding Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the rule, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials immediately to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.
Which Training Products Should You Validate?
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for 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 identifies which assessment items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Standard 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 evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Evidence Rules
- 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 there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria 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:
- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
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 specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should awesome site be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 won’t cut it.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark 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 assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
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 help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, 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.