Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs
Registered Training Organisations handle various responsibilities after becoming registered, which include annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in many posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as a quality review of the evaluation process.
Basically, assessment review is intended to identify 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, 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 standards mandate two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the primary part of the regulation, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new training materials, 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 appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to conduct this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Update your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Note 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Note that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.
Necessary Resources 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 items meet subject requirements, helping with 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: Also verify if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and meet subject requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Important Factors in 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
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare this site and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Frequent Errors
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 is not sufficient.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must meet all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
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 instructions do not mislead students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators 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 for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.