Intro to Assessment Validation

Training Organisations manage numerous responsibilities after becoming registered, which include yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many articles, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.

At its core, 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, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The rules specify two forms of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation verifies that assessments follow the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the implementation, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new materials right away to ensure they are appropriate for students.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Detect 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

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

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas 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. check it out Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and evaluation templates developed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the evaluation task and address unit requirements.

Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: 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?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

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

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

Common Pitfalls

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 evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must meet all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the evaluation tool is out of compliance.

Be Specific!

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

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

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

By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.