Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage various responsibilities post-registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as a quality review of the evaluation process.
Primarily, assessment validation is intended to identify 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the initial part of the rule, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you purchase new training materials, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Check new resources as soon as possible to ensure they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to do this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Update your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Review 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 Requiring Validation
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an get more info assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and comply with course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation 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 industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Assessment Principles
- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Evidence Rules
- Appropriateness: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
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 criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 is not sufficient.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must cover all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.
Be Specific!
Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or trainers.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately judge student competence.
Ensuring Audit Compliance
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.