Intro to Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations handle numerous responsibilities post-registration, like yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in many articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA identifies validation of assessments as a quality review of the evaluation process.
In essence, assessment review is about 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 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the rule, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the conduct, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new resources immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.
What Training Products Need Validation?
Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
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 ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- Relevance: 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?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria 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:
- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Typical Mistakes
Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
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 baffle students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge 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 check here an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.