{Guide to Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Training Bodies in Australia's training sector -

{Guide to Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Training Bodies in Australia's training sector -

Blog Article

Overview

Registered Training Organisations handle many tasks upon registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While we've discussed validation in multiple discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.

Fundamentally, validation of assessments is designed to identify which parts of an RTO’s assessment methods 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 regulations, 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 standards mandate two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the first part of the clause, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the execution, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new resources as soon as possible to verify they are suitable for student use.

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

- Improve your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Recognise 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

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

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and templates developed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.

Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding 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?
- Accuracy: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will different RTO assessment validation checklist assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one required performance evidence asks students to:

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

Common Pitfalls

Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.

Mind 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 is not sufficient.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must meet all requirements, or the student is not competent, 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 judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or evaluators.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, 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 tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.