Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs
Training Organisations are responsible for various responsibilities upon registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.
At its core, assessment review is intended to identify 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 regulations specify two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the first part of the rule, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, you must carry out validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new materials immediately to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Note 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Bear in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, logs, and forms developed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and meet course unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Standard 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 mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- 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 requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate this site 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 requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 is not sufficient.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not baffle students or evaluators.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.