Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Training Organisations handle various tasks post-registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.
Primarily, assessment review 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 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 standards specify two types of validation. The initial type of assessment validation checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the first type—validation of assessment tools.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the initial part of the clause, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all elements, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Check new materials as soon as possible to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Keep in mind 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 start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and meet subject requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
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 ask all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- 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?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements 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
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Frequent Errors
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Mind the 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 won’t cut it.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment task must have clear and more info specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or assessors.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.