{Tools for Assessment Validation for the RTOs throughout the Australian landscape -

{Tools for Assessment Validation for the RTOs throughout the Australian landscape -

Blog Article

Intro to Assessment Validation

Training Organisations are responsible for many duties post-registration, such as yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.

Essentially, validation of assessments is dedicated to 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, 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 rules mandate two types of validation. The first type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the first part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials as soon as possible to verify they are suitable for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:

- Modify your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.

What Training Products Need Validation?

Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- 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/Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms created 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 here specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states 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 validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- 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?

Guidelines for 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?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Common Pitfalls

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 theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out 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 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 twice on just one baby is not sufficient.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must cover all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not baffle students or evaluators.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Not using 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, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.