{Process of Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Education Centres across Australia's training sector —

{Process of Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Education Centres across Australia's training sector —

Blog Article

Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle various tasks after becoming registered, such as yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes assessment validation as granular review of the assessment process.

Basically, assessment validation is intended to identify 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 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 standards require two forms of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The other type verifies that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the regulation, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all components, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning 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 tools immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.

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

- Revise your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Spot 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 Requiring Validation

Bear in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- 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 assessment resource 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 criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and evaluation templates created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and meet 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 educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended this site to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: 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?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications 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:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- 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 criteria is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each evaluation task 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 mislead students or assessors.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, 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 recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.