Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs
Registered Training Organisations have many obligations following registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Principally, validation of assessments is about 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 standards require two forms of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the first part of the regulation, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The goal of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new resources right away to verify they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the student workbook and marking 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 educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the more info following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- 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: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: 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 verbs in the unit criteria 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 nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- 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-based evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 out of compliance. Each evaluation task must cover all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark 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.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions 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.