Assessment Validation Overview
Registered Training Organisations handle multiple duties upon registration, which include annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in many discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Essentially, validation of assessments 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 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 rules mandate 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 ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Understanding Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the primary part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new materials as soon as possible to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Modify your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Compare your course with 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Note that this validation ensures compliance of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and evaluation templates created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and comply with unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 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 educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies 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 Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- Relevance: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- 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 verbs in the unit criteria 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:
- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Typical Mistakes
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (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 Baby and Toddler Care 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must meet all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not mislead students or assessors.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors 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 for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant more info approach.
By following these recommendations 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.