Intro to RTO Assessment Validation
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have multiple duties post-registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.
Fundamentally, validation of assessments is concerned with identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation 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, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
The rules mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.
Differentiating Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the rule, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the implementation, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new tools immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Upgrade your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Identify 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.
What Training Products Need Validation?
Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:
- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary 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 course unit requirements.
Assessment Validation Panel
Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. It states assessment 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:
- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: 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?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Authenticity: Is get more info the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Important Factors in Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- 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
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 requirement is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be doing the tasks.
Mind the Plurals!
Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 won’t cut it.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation task must meet all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is not compliant.
Can You Be More 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 confuse students or evaluators.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for trainers 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 until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.