{Process of Assessment Validation for the Training Establishments within Australia —

{Process of Assessment Validation for the Training Establishments within Australia —

Blog Article

Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Training Organisations are responsible for multiple obligations post-registration, such as annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many posts, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the evaluation process.

In essence, assessment review is aimed at identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The rules specify two types of validation. The primary type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the implementation, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The goal of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain 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. Review new materials right away to confirm they are fit for student use.

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

- Update your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Evaluate 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?

Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and templates designed separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and meet subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Impartiality: 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?
- Accuracy: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

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 check it out assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each assessment task must meet all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse 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 evaluate student competence.

Assurance During Audits

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 assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.