Introduction
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle various tasks following registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
Fundamentally, validation of assessments is concerned with 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 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 regulations mandate 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 verifies that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the primary part of the rule, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the implementation, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must carry out 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 verify they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Note 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.
Training Products Needing Validation
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Resources Needed to Start 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 indicates which evaluation items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, registers, and templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states assessment 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 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 credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: 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?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications 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 diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- 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 criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.
Mind the 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 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 non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment task 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 confuse students or evaluators.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled these guys questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.