Introduction
Registered Training Organisations manage multiple tasks upon registration, including annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment procedure.
Basically, assessment validation is intended to identify which parts of an RTO’s assessment methods 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 rules mandate two types of validation. The primary type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the first part of the rule, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new materials right away to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Modify your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Flag your learning resources as a risk 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and meet subject requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in 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 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
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 specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. 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 is not sufficient.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must cover all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or assessors.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students awesome site 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 until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.