{Guide to Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Training Establishments across Australia's training sector :

Overview

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle many responsibilities post-registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA defines validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.

Primarily, validation of assessments is concerned with 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, 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 regulations specify two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the initial part of the regulation, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new materials immediately to confirm they are appropriate for students.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.

Training Products Requiring Validation

Note that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and forms created separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and address subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: 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?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Common Pitfalls

Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 these guys enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must address all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference 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 easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately assess student competence.

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.