{Assessment Validation Guide regarding Training Providers across Australia's training sector A Step-by-Step Guide

{Assessment Validation Guide regarding Training Providers across Australia's training sector A Step-by-Step Guide

Blog Article

Introduction

Registered Training Organisations have many obligations after becoming registered, such as yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple posts, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.

Essentially, assessment validation 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 mandate two types of validation. The first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Check new resources right away to verify they are fit for student use.

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

- Revise your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Recognise 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.

Identifying Training Products for Validation

Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it check here is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and templates developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and comply with unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: 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: 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?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in 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 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

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 assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must address all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.

Be Specific!

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

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, 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 regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.