{Assessment Validation for VET Providers throughout Australia's training sector An In-Depth Guide

{Assessment Validation for VET Providers throughout Australia's training sector An In-Depth Guide

Blog Article

Assessment Validation Overview

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are responsible for various tasks after becoming registered, including annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple posts, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

At its core, assessment review is dedicated to identifying 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 regulations, 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 regulations mandate two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the first type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new materials as soon as possible to ensure they are appropriate for students.

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

- Revise your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Recognise 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 Needing Validation

Remember that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in 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/Marking Guide: Also check if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and forms designed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and address subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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 sector experts.

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, 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
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Frequent Errors

Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.

Mind the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care requires 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 won’t cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

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

Be Specific!

Each evaluation 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 directions do not mislead students or assessors.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.