{Guide to Assessment Validation for Vocational Training Institutes across Australia :

{Guide to Assessment Validation for Vocational Training Institutes across Australia :

Blog Article

Overview

Registered Training Organisations have numerous obligations post-registration, like yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation is notably challenging. While validation has been covered in many posts, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA describes assessment validation as a quality review of the evaluation process.

Basically, validation of assessments is concerned with 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, 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 require two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the first part of the regulation, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the execution, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational resources, 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 resources immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Audit 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Keep in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.

Necessary Resources 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 indicates which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation 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 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:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.

Assessment Principles

- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: 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?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Relevance: 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?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, check it out bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

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 specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.

Mind the 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 Not Competent

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark 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.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they assist with 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 reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.