Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Training Organisations have numerous obligations post-registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many publications, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment validation as granular review of the assessment procedure.
In essence, assessment review is focused on 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, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The regulations specify two types of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The other type verifies that assessments follow the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the initial part of the rule, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new resources as soon as possible to verify they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Check your course against 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and comply with course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one check it out 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.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
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?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit criteria 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 diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Common Pitfalls
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), 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 Baby and Toddler Care 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 won’t cut it.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse students or trainers.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge 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 impacts your compliance record, 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 valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.