{Tools for Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Training Institutes across the Australian context A Step-by-Step Guide

{Tools for Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Training Institutes across the Australian context A Step-by-Step Guide

Blog Article

Overview of Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle various tasks 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 publications, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes assessment review as granular review of the assessment procedure.

Principally, assessment review is aimed at identifying 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, meet 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 checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the conduct, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all aspects, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new resources immediately to verify they are fit for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:

- Amend your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Spot 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 Requiring Validation

Keep in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and templates developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and meet course unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it Assessment validation requirements aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Evidence Rules

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: 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:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Typical Mistakes

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., knowledge 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 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision 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 easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.