{Assessment Validation Guide regarding Vocational Education Bodies across the Australian landscape —

{Assessment Validation Guide regarding Vocational Education Bodies across the Australian landscape —

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Intro to RTO Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations have various tasks upon registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment process.

Primarily, assessment review is concerned with identifying 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 regulations, 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 regulations mandate two types of validation. The primary type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the initial type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the first part of the regulation, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new learning 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 materials right away to verify they are suitable for student use.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Detect 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 educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and templates developed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and meet course unit requirements.

Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

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

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Frequent Errors

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

Watch Out for the 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 won’t cut it.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must cover all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not baffle students or evaluators.

Steer Clear click here of 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, “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 instructions and understanding the principles of assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.