{Guide to Assessment Validation regarding Education Providers in the Australian landscape An Exhaustive Guide
Assessment Validation OverviewRegistered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage many obligations upon registration, which include yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment validation as granular review of the evaluation process.
Basically, assessment validation is about identifying 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 specify two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning 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. Review new materials immediately to verify 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:
- Revise your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Assess your course with 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set more info of your learning resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms designed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the evaluation task and meet course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: 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?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: 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 tasks in the unit specifications 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 diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Common Pitfalls
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all requirements, or the student is incompetent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not mislead students or evaluators.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” 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 safe and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.