Overview
RTOs have various tasks post-registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.
Fundamentally, validation of assessments is focused on 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, 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 initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the first part of the regulation, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the implementation, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new materials immediately to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Resources Required 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 evaluation items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms developed separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- this site Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Evidence Rules
- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Adequacy: 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: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for 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 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- 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
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria 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 frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must meet all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not mislead students or assessors.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.