{Assessment Validation Process regarding Educational Institutions across the Australian landscape :
Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOsRegistered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage numerous obligations post-registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
At its core, assessment validation is concerned with identifying 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 forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments are conducted according 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: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the first part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials as soon as possible to verify they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Check your course against 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.
Which Training Products Should You Validate?
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and forms created separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet course unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for 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 field experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Does read more the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for 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: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: 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 nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
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 evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge 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 calls for 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.
Full Competence or Not Competent
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 not competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or trainers.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.