Overview
RTOs are responsible for various responsibilities following registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in many discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment process.
At its core, assessment validation is concerned with identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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, meet 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 checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the 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: Relates to the implementation, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Best Time for Conducting Assessment
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all aspects, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new resources as soon as possible to ensure they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to do this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Review 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.
Training Products Needing Validation
Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and forms designed separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation 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 industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge read more it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements 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:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
Common Pitfalls
Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 demands 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.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must cover all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Be Specific!
Each assessment 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 directions do not mislead students or trainers.
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 until an audit to address 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 evaluation tools are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.