{Validation of Assessment for Vocational Education Bodies throughout Australia :
Intro to RTO Assessment ValidationRegistered Training Organisations handle multiple duties after becoming registered, including yearly reports, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While we've discussed validation in several discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment validation as granular review of the assessment procedure.
Fundamentally, assessment validation 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 rules require two types of validation. The first type of validation of assessments checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the regulation, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the implementation, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all components, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new materials immediately to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Check your course against 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- 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 instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, logs, and templates created separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and comply with unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. 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 assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment here TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs 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 and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
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 requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Mind the 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 enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.
Be Specific!
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 instructions do not confuse students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using 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, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe 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 valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.