Overview of Assessment Validation
Training Organisations are responsible for numerous responsibilities after becoming registered, like yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While we've discussed validation in many publications, let's return to the basics. ASQA describes validation of assessments as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Essentially, assessment review is focused on 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, 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 specify two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation verifies 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 focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new tools as soon as possible to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Spot 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?
Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- 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.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if directions 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 they suit the assessment task and address unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- 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?
- Adequacy: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- 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 criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Watch Out for the 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 is not sufficient.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks here listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must meet all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or evaluators.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.