Intro to Assessment Validation

Training Organisations have many responsibilities upon registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment process.

Fundamentally, validation of assessments is focused on 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 regulations, 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 mandate two types of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Differentiating Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the initial part of the clause, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new tools right away to confirm they are suitable for student use.

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

- Modify your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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 to Validate

Keep in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet course 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.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and meet course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

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

Principles of Assessment

- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Guidelines for 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?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications 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
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

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 assess theoretical understanding (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers demands 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 is not sufficient.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must cover all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.

Provide Specific Details

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

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student 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 help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, 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 valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.