{Guide to Assessment Validation for Vocational Education Bodies across the Australian context —

{Guide to Assessment Validation for Vocational Education Bodies across the Australian context —

Blog Article

Overview of Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have various duties following registration, including annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment process.

Essentially, assessment validation is focused on 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 initial type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the first part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new resources right away to confirm they are suitable for student use.

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

- Enhance your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Audit 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.

What Training Products Require Validation

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items 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 answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if here clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and forms created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and meet subject requirements.

Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: 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: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words 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 evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Typical Mistakes

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., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. 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 is not sufficient.

Full Competence 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 cover 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 standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or trainers.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately judge 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 for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.