{Assessment Validation Guide for the Vocational Training Establishments across the Australian landscape —

{Assessment Validation Guide for the Vocational Training Establishments across the Australian landscape —

Blog Article

Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Training Organisations are responsible for multiple responsibilities after becoming registered, such as annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as granular review of the assessment procedure.

Principally, validation of assessments is designed to identify 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 SRTOs 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 standards mandate two types of validation. The initial type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the first type—assessment tool validation.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the primary part of the rule, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, 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 immediately to verify they are appropriate for students.

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

- Revise your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Detect your learning resources as a risk 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.

Identifying Training Products for Validation

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start 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 subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and meet course unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including field experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Evidence Rules

- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Timeliness: 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 tasks in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change diapers
- 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 check here 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 specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out 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 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 task must meet all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard 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.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.

Assurance During Audits

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 affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.