Overview of Assessment Validation

RTOs manage numerous responsibilities post-registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While we've discussed validation in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.

Primarily, assessment validation 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 SRTOs 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 standards require two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the first part of the regulation, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the conduct, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The goal of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new tools as soon as possible to ensure they are fit for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:

- Upgrade your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Recognise 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

Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates developed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and address subject requirements.

Panel for Validation

Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. 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 validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Evidence Rules

- Relevance: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Typical Mistakes

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 evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must cover all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not mislead students or assessors.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these promises, check here you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.