Intro to Assessment Validation

RTOs are responsible for numerous responsibilities upon registration, including annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.

Principally, assessment validation is concerned with 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 regulations specify two types of validation. The first type of assessment review ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new resources immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:

- Improve your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.

Training Products to Validate

Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and forms created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the more info assessment task and comply with course 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 ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials 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?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Evidence Rules

- Relevance: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

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

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- 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 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 Nurture babies and toddlers 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.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all criteria, 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 directions do not baffle students or evaluators.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Assurance During Audits

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 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 reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.