Assessment Validation Overview
RTOs manage numerous duties upon registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA describes assessment review as quality assurance of the evaluation process.
In essence, validation of assessments is aimed at 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, 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 forms of validation. The initial type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures 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—validation of assessment tools.
Understanding Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the implementation, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials immediately to verify they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It more info identifies which assessment items meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms designed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following credentials 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: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: 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 action words in the unit criteria 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 bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- 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
Common Pitfalls
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. 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 is not sufficient.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or evaluators.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.
Audit Guarantees
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 help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.