Assessment Validation Overview

RTOs manage many duties upon registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several posts, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as a quality review of the evaluation process.

At its core, assessment review is dedicated to 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 SRTOs 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 standards specify two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment validation checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the primary part of the clause, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of assessment tool validation is to verify that all aspects, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new materials right away to verify they are appropriate for students.

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

- Modify your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Review your course against 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

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check Validate assessment tools for RTO if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and comply with course unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Adequacy: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate 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?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

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

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding 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

Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess theoretical understanding (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 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 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 out of compliance. Each assessment task must address all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or assessors.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Audit Guarantees

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 impacts your compliance record, 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.