Intro to Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage various tasks following registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in many publications, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.

Primarily, validation of assessments 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The standards mandate two forms of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the first type—assessment tool validation.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the regulation, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all elements, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new resources as soon as possible to confirm they are fit for student use.

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

- Revise your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Examine 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

Note that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and templates designed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. click here Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and comply with course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Clause 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 mandate all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Common Pitfalls

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 doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. 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 won’t cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must address all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or assessors.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

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 assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.