{Tools for Assessment Validation regarding VET Organizations throughout Australia —

{Tools for Assessment Validation regarding VET Organizations throughout Australia —

Blog Article

Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations are responsible for many duties post-registration, such as yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While we've discussed validation in many discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment process.

At its core, assessment validation is concerned with identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation 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 standards mandate two types of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation'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 both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the primary type—assessment tool validation.

What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the first part of the clause, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials right away to ensure they are suitable for student use.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Recognise 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Remember that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, aiding in 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 verify if guidelines 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 checklists, logs, and templates developed separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and meet course unit requirements.

Validation Panel

Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional 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.

Assessment Principles

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Evidence Rules

- 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?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

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 requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), 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 calls for more info 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 itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each assessment task must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse students or assessors.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

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