{Assessment Validation Guide for the Vocational Training Establishments in Australia's training sector —

{Assessment Validation Guide for the Vocational Training Establishments in Australia's training sector —

Blog Article

Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations handle many duties upon registration, which include annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes validation of assessments as a quality review of the assessment process.

Principally, assessment review is dedicated to identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The rules specify two forms of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the initial part of the clause, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must perform assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new tools right away to ensure they are appropriate for students.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and meet course unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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 ask all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims more info to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks 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 evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- 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 specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 won’t cut it.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must address all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.

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 instructions do not baffle students or assessors.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.