{Assessment Validation Guide for Training Organizations within the Australian landscape -
{Assessment Validation Guide for Training Organizations within the Australian landscape -
Blog Article
Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations handle various tasks upon registration, such as annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in multiple articles, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.
Primarily, validation of assessments is designed to identify which parts of an RTO's assessment process 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation 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 concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the initial part of the clause, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the implementation, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all aspects, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new materials as soon as possible to verify they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Upgrade your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Compare your course with 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.
Training Products to Validate
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with 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: Also check if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and templates developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and meet unit requirements.
Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge website it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- 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 tasks in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Typical Mistakes
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. 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 Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet 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 reference answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of 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 influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.