Intro to Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations are responsible for multiple duties following registration, which include yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While we've discussed validation in multiple publications, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Basically, assessment validation is dedicated to identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, 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 rules require two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Overview of Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new tools as soon as possible to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Assess your course with 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?
Remember that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and address course unit requirements.
Assessment 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 ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Common Pitfalls
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. 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 Nothing Competence
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must cover website all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.
Be Specific!
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 guidelines do not confuse students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide 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 preventative 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 reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.