{Assessment Validation regarding Vocational Training Bodies in the Australian landscape —
{Assessment Validation regarding Vocational Training Bodies in the Australian landscape —
Blog Article
Introduction
Registered Training Organisations manage multiple obligations post-registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in multiple articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA describes assessment validation as granular review of the assessment process.
Primarily, assessment review 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, 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 mandate two types of validation. The initial type of validation of assessments checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments follow the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.
The Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, pertains to the primary part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Timing for Assessment Tool Validation
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Validate new resources immediately to confirm they are fit for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Assess your course with 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
Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and evaluation templates created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment activity and address subject requirements.
Validation Panel
Clause 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 industry experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all 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 practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Common Pitfalls
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months find it here does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out 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 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must meet all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, 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 instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.