{Guide to Assessment Validation for Training Providers throughout Australia's training sector -
Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOsRegistered Training Organisations handle multiple tasks following registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment process.
Principally, assessment validation is concerned with 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 mandate two types of validation. The initial type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the regulation, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new materials as soon as possible to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Note 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 to Validate
Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and check here evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and address unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 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 mandate all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 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?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Key Considerations for 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 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Frequent Errors
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Mind the 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 won’t cut it.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each assessment item must meet all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation task 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 evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators 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 instructions and understanding the assessment principles and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.