Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage many obligations following registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.
In essence, validation of assessments is designed to identify which parts of an RTO’s assessment methods 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, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The rules mandate two types of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the first type—assessment tool validation.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the rule, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new tools as soon as possible to confirm they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:
- Update your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Assess 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Remember that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet subject requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Rules of Evidence
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit website of competency?
- Adequacy: 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?
- Relevance: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies
Frequent Errors
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out 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 is not sufficient.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for 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 regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.