{Validation of Assessment for the Vocational Education Institutes within Australia :
Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOsRTOs are responsible for many duties following registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While we've discussed validation in several publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment procedure.
Principally, assessment validation 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, comply with 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 first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new materials as soon as possible to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Audit your course with 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 ensures compliance of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and forms designed separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure Assessment validation requirements Australia they suit the assessment task and address unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
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 panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- 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 Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: 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?
Key Considerations for 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 evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding 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
Common Pitfalls
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. 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 won’t cut it.
All 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 cover all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is not 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 directions do not mislead students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with 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 reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.