Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
RTOs are responsible for various obligations post-registration, which include yearly reports, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in several discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines validation of assessments as quality assurance of the assessment process.
At its core, 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, adhere to 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 initial type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to 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 suggests that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the first part of the rule, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. 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 time to do this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Detect 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.
Training Products to Validate
Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student 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 verify if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and comply with unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: 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 find it here has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Frequent Errors
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 carrying out the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. 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.
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 assessment task must meet all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
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 assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.