{Assessment Validation Guide for the Vocational Training Establishments throughout Australia's training sector —

{Assessment Validation Guide for the Vocational Training Establishments throughout Australia's training sector —

Blog Article

Intro to Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations manage many obligations upon registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment procedure.

Primarily, assessment validation is concerned with 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the primary part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new resources as soon as possible to verify they are appropriate for students.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to conduct this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:

- Revise your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Recognise 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.

Training Products Requiring Validation

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and meet unit requirements.

Validation Panel

Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Assessment Principles

- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: 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?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- 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 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- 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

Frequent Errors

Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

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 cover all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.

Be 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 guidelines do not confuse students or evaluators.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify 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 evidence rules, RTO assessment validation checklist you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.