{Process of Assessment Validation for the Training Establishments within the Australian context —

{Process of Assessment Validation for the Training Establishments within the Australian context —

Blog Article

Intro to Assessment Validation

RTOs are responsible for many obligations following registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.

Principally, assessment review is designed to identify 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 Standards for RTOs 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 require two types of validation. The first type of validation of assessments checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.

Differentiating Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the primary part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the conduct, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new tools immediately to confirm they are suitable for student use.

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

- Update your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.

What Training Products Need Validation?

Note that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for 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 industry experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Relevance: 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?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, 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

Common Pitfalls

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 evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should check it out 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 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 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 evaluation task must meet all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.

Be Specific!

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or trainers.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.