Overview of Assessment Validation
Training Organisations manage numerous duties following registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While we've discussed validation in many posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA describes assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
Principally, validation of assessments is designed to identify which parts of an RTO's assessment 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 Standards for RTOs 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 standards require two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Understanding Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the rule, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new resources right away to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Evaluate 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.
Training Products Needing Validation
Bear in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and meet course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills 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
- 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?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence 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
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
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 performing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 get more info Baby and Toddler Care 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 out of compliance. Each assessment task must address all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation 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 guidelines do not baffle students or assessors.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately assess student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.