{Tools for Assessment Validation for Vocational Training Establishments across Australia :

{Tools for Assessment Validation for Vocational Training Establishments across Australia :

Blog Article

Intro to Assessment Validation

RTOs manage many responsibilities upon registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in multiple discussions, let's return to the basics. ASQA describes assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

Fundamentally, assessment review is about 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 require two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the primary part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new tools as soon as possible to ensure they are fit for student use.

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

- Improve your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Flag 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 to Validate

Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence 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 shows which assessment items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: read more Also verify if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and templates designed separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and comply with unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

Standard 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:

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

Assessment Principles

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: 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 there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: 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 tasks in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed 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

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 evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Mind 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 is not sufficient.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must meet all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is out of compliance.

Can You Be More Specific?

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

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler 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 until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.