{Assessment Validation Guide regarding Vocational Education and Training within the Australian context —

{Assessment Validation Guide regarding Vocational Education and Training within the Australian context —

Blog Article

Overview of Assessment Validation

Training Organisations are responsible for various duties after becoming registered, which include annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in many publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.

Fundamentally, validation of assessments is designed to identify 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 regulations, 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 mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the initial part of the clause, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new educational resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new tools as soon as possible to confirm they are suitable for student use.

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

- Improve your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Spot 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject 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 identifies which evaluation items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Validate assessment tools Australia Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and templates created separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and meet subject requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: 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?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

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

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

Frequent Errors

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

Be Careful with Plurals!

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

Full Competence 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 meet all requirements, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.

Be Specific!

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

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, 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 recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.