Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

RTOs are responsible for numerous obligations upon registration, such as annual statements, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation is notably challenging. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment process.

In essence, validation of assessments is concerned with identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The standards specify two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment review checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type verifies that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the initial type—assessment tool validation.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the first part of the rule, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new resources right away to confirm they are appropriate for students.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:

- Modify your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Compare 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 ensures conformity of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and templates developed separately from the learner workbook and Assessment tool validation Australia marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.

Validation Panel

Regulation 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually require all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Assessment Principles

- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: 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 action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Typical Mistakes

Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 requires 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 itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet all specifications, 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 guidelines do not mislead students or evaluators.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.