{Validation of Assessment regarding Educational Institutions throughout Australia :
Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOsRegistered Training Organisations have numerous obligations following registration, such as annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.
Fundamentally, assessment review is focused on 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The regulations mandate two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees 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 initial type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the clause, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new materials immediately to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Audit your course with 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 educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and forms developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and meet unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: 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?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Evidence Rules
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Important Factors in 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 criteria asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- 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 criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 Assessment validation checklist Australia twice on just one baby won’t cut it.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must cover all requirements, or the student is incompetent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or evaluators.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately judge student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” 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 guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.