Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs
RTOs are responsible for many tasks following registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the evaluation process.
In essence, assessment review is concerned with identifying which parts of an RTO's assessment 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 rules require two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the primary part of the clause, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new tools right away to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Modify your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Note 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and response read more areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and forms developed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and meet unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
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 specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers demands 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.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must meet all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or assessors.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.