Introduction
Registered Training Organisations handle various obligations upon registration, like annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Basically, assessment validation 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, 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Overview of Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the rule, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new tools immediately to verify they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and forms developed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and meet unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel these guys members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Frequent Errors
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 underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out 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 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
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 item must address all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment task 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 baffle students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
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 for audits?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.