Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

RTOs are responsible for various responsibilities after becoming registered, such as annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While we've discussed validation in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

Principally, assessment validation is about identifying 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 SRTOs 2015 regulations, 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 regulations specify two forms of validation. The primary type of assessment review ensures compliance 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 indicates that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the initial part of the clause, aimed at meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the conduct, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The goal of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials immediately to verify they are appropriate for students.

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

- Amend your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Identify 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 ensures conformity of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and forms created separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in website the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Common Pitfalls

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 performing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. 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 won’t cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment 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 simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately evaluate student competence.

Assurance During Audits

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 assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.