Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage many responsibilities upon registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While we've discussed validation in several publications, let's return to the basics. ASQA defines assessment review as granular review of the evaluation process.
At its core, validation of assessments is concerned with 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 rules specify two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review 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 validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the first type—validation of assessment tools.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the clause, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all aspects, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must perform assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new resources as soon as possible to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Check your course against 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
Note that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet subject requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and evaluation templates created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these these guys to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Appropriateness: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: 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: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Key Considerations for 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 Baby and Toddler Care, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles 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
- 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 specification is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the numbers. 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 Nothing Competence
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 specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.
Be Specific!
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, 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 compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.