{Assessment Validation regarding Education Providers in the Australian landscape -
IntroductionRegistered Training Organisations have multiple duties post-registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.
Basically, assessment review is intended 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the first part of the clause, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the execution, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to 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 make sure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials immediately to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to conduct this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Spot 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?
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Evidence Rules
- Relevance: Is the website evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- 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 specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
Typical Mistakes
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 non-compliant. Each assessment item must cover all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not mislead students or trainers.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.