Overview of Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations are responsible for many duties following registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in multiple discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.

Fundamentally, 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, 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 specify two types of validation. The initial type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the first part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The aim of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new tools immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to do this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:

- Enhance your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are website sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the evaluation task and comply with unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

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: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements 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
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Common Pitfalls

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 theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. 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 is not sufficient.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool 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 directions do not confuse students or trainers.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.

Audit Guarantees

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 help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.