{Assessment Validation Guide pertaining to Vocational Education Centres within the Australian context —

{Assessment Validation Guide pertaining to Vocational Education Centres within the Australian context —

Blog Article

Assessment Validation Overview

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are responsible for various tasks following registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines validation of assessments as a quality review of the evaluation process.

Principally, validation of assessments is about 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 regulations, 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 first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the clause, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The goal of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must perform 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 verify they are suitable for student use.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Identify 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 Requiring Validation

Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each unit.

Resources Needed to Start 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 shows which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/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 ensure if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and address course unit requirements.

Validation Panel

Clause 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 ask all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Adequacy: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: 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 assessment 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
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

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 assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out 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 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 is not sufficient.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each assessment task must cover all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the evaluation tool check here is not compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each evaluation task 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 confuse students or assessors.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address 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 evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.