Overview of Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle multiple obligations upon registration, such as yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment validation as a quality review of the evaluation process.

Primarily, assessment review is focused on 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 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 require two types of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the primary part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the execution, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new tools immediately to ensure they are suitable for student use.

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

- Enhance your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Detect 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.

Training Products to Validate

Remember that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and address course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- 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?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Guidelines for 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?
- Sufficiency: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one required performance evidence asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs 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 criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care demands 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 enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment item must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not mislead students or assessors.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for get more info assessors to accurately evaluate 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 proactive 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 standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.