{Tools for Assessment Validation for Education Providers in the Australian context —
Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOsRTOs handle various duties post-registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in several discussions, let's return to the basics. ASQA identifies assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.
Essentially, assessment validation is dedicated to 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The rules specify two types of validation. The first type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the clause, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all aspects, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new resources as soon as possible to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Detect 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
Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and forms developed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for more info panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: 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 relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Typical Mistakes
Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must address all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Be 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
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately assess student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.