{Guide to Assessment Validation for the Education Providers in the Australian context A Full Guide

{Guide to Assessment Validation for the Education Providers in the Australian context A Full Guide

Blog Article

Intro to Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle multiple obligations upon registration, which include yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.

Essentially, assessment review is about 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 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 specify two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the first type—assessment tool validation.

Differentiating Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new materials right away to verify they are fit for student use.

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

- Modify your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Flag 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.

What Training Products Require Validation

Note that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.

Resources Needed to Start 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 identifies which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and forms developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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 field experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, get more info accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: 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

- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Frequent Errors

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 underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must address all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

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

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations 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.