{Assessment Validation regarding Educational Institutions in the context of Australia —

{Assessment Validation regarding Educational Institutions in the context of Australia —

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Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations have multiple responsibilities following registration, which include yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While we've discussed validation in several publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes validation of assessments as a quality review of the assessment procedure.

Principally, assessment validation is about 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 first type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

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

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

- Enhance your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Check 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 training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, 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, helping with 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 assessors 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 developed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address subject 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 mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including field 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 training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 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?
- Validity: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

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?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one required performance evidence asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Frequent Errors

Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

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

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.

Can You Be More 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.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student check it out competence.

Audit Guarantees

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 safe and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.