Overview
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have various obligations after becoming registered, like annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
Fundamentally, validation of assessments is focused on 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, 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 standards require two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the first part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the implementation, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Best Time for Conducting Assessment
The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational 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. Check new tools immediately to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Flag 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and forms designed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Clause 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 industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Impartiality: 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?
- Dependability: 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?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- 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
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.
Be Careful with 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.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover here all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool 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 guidelines do not mislead students or trainers.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, 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 guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.