Overview of Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations handle various obligations upon registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in many discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
Principally, assessment validation is about identifying 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The standards require two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the first part of the rule, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new tools right away to verify they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Examine 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.
Training Products Requiring Validation
Keep in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.
Resources Needed to Start 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 indicates which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and forms developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and meet subject requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel 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 Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: 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 requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding 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 find it here directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. 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 Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment item must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate 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 impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.