Introduction
RTOs handle many tasks following registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many posts, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA describes assessment review as granular review of the assessment process.
Principally, assessment review is dedicated to 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, 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 initial type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies 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 focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Understanding Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the conduct, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new resources immediately to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to conduct this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Upgrade your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Recognise your learning resources as a risk 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.
Training Products Requiring Validation
Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each course 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 unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and forms created separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and comply with subject requirements.
Validation Panel
Standard 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 assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access check here to everyone?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims 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?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
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 theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge-based 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 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.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must meet all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Be Specific!
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not baffle students or trainers.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately judge student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these assurances, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations 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.