{Validation of Assessment for Vocational Education Institutes across the Australian landscape :

Overview of Assessment Validation

Training Organisations manage numerous tasks following registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While we've discussed validation in several discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.

Essentially, assessment validation is intended to identify which parts of an RTO’s evaluation process 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 Standards for RTOs 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 regulations specify two types of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the initial part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Check new materials as soon as possible to confirm they are suitable for student use.

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

- Modify your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Spot 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.

Selecting Training Products for Validation

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

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include lists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and address course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or click here 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?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: 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?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in 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 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Typical Mistakes

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., knowledge-based evidence), 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 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.

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 task must meet all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Be 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 instructions do not confuse students or trainers.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Assurance During Audits

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 impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.

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