Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have many obligations after becoming registered, like annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in many posts, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.
Principally, assessment review is designed 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 SRTOs 2015, 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 mandate two types of validation. The primary type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will concentrate on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Overview of Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
Best Time for Conducting Assessment
The goal of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new tools immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Recognise your learning resources as a risk 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.
Training Products to Validate
Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set Assessment validation training of your learning resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner/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.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if directions 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 checklists, logs, and evaluation templates developed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet subject requirements.
Validation Panel
Clause 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 panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?
Rules of Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the verbs in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence 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
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Common Pitfalls
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification 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 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each evaluation task must cover all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.
Be Specific!
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse students or trainers.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.