Assessment Validation Overview
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have various obligations after becoming registered, which include yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as a quality review of the evaluation process.
At its core, validation of assessments is about 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 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 require two forms of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies that assessments follow the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—validation of assessment tools.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the first part of the clause, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the conduct, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new training materials, you must perform validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new resources immediately to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Update your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Identify 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and templates developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the evaluation task and meet unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Standard 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 ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications 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:
- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
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., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing 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 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 Nothing Competence
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment task must address all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
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 baffle students or trainers.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler 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 assurances, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and Rules of Evidence, you can check it out ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.