Assessment Validation Overview
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are responsible for many responsibilities following registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in multiple publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.
In essence, assessment review is dedicated to identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment methods 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 standards require two types of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the clause, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The aim of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new resources as soon as possible to verify they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Upgrade your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Recognise 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
Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and forms developed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and comply with course unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Standard 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 assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: 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?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
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 required performance evidence asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to 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
Frequent Errors
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must meet all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not baffle students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit these guys before they assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.