{Tools for Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Education Centres throughout the Australian context An Exhaustive Guide
Assessment Validation OverviewRegistered Training Organisations handle various tasks upon registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.
Basically, validation of assessments is focused on identifying 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 SRTOs 2015, 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the first part of the regulation, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new resources right away to ensure they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.
What Training Products Need Validation?
Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and meet course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Regulation 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 evaluators to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills find it here relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: 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?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Evidence Rules
- Appropriateness: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- 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 action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation 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 babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Frequent Errors
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 calls for 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 Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must address all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.
Can You Be More 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 baffle students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge 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 help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.