Overview
RTOs handle multiple responsibilities post-registration, which include annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.
Essentially, validation of assessments is focused on 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The standards specify two types of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the first part of the clause, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new materials immediately to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to conduct this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Compare 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.
Training Products Requiring Validation
Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Required 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 shows which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms created separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Timeliness: 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 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- 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
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with 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 won’t cut it.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or trainers.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators 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 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 this site compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.