Intro to Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations have numerous tasks following registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several posts, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes validation of assessments as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
In essence, assessment validation is aimed at identifying which parts of an RTO's assessment 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 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 regulations mandate two types of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type guarantees that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the primary part of the regulation, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the conduct, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new resources immediately to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.
Which Training Products Should You Validate?
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, logs, and templates developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and meet course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation 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 field experts.
Collectively, your panel this site must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: 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?
- Currency: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications 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:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Typical Mistakes
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 evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 lists. 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 incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or assessors.
Steer Clear of 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 assessment principles and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.