{Assessment Validation Process pertaining to Vocational Training Establishments across the Australian context —

{Assessment Validation Process pertaining to Vocational Training Establishments across the Australian context —

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Overview of Assessment Validation

RTOs are responsible for numerous responsibilities following registration, such as yearly reports, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.

Essentially, assessment review is about 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, 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 rules specify two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the first part of the rule, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the conduct, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new materials right away to ensure they are suitable for student use.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Identify 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.

What Training Products Require Validation

Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and meet unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

Standard 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 field experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

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: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- 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 evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Frequent Errors

Asking students to describe the nappy-changing more info 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., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. 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.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. 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 yet competent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

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

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, 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 reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.