Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are responsible for various duties upon registration, such as yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in multiple articles, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.
Basically, assessment validation is designed to identify which parts of an RTO's assessment 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The standards mandate two types of validation. The primary type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the first part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the implementation, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review 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. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.
Identifying Training Products for Validation
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation 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 input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates developed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and comply with course unit requirements.
Panel for Validation
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for validation panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: 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?
Evidence Rules
- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry here practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements 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:
- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Typical Mistakes
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Be Careful with Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must address all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation 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 instructions do not mislead students or trainers.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers 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 until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.
By following these instructions and understanding the principles of assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.