{Assessment Validation Tools pertaining to Vocational Education Institutes within the Australian landscape -

{Assessment Validation Tools pertaining to Vocational Education Institutes within the Australian landscape -

Blog Article

Assessment Validation Overview

Training Organisations are responsible for multiple obligations post-registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While we've discussed validation in several posts, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA describes assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.

Principally, validation of assessments is about 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, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The standards mandate two forms of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to 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 indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the implementation, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new resources as soon as possible to verify they are suitable for student use.

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

- Improve your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Spot 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.

Identifying Training Products for Validation

Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking 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 results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the evaluation task and address subject requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: 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

- Relevance: Is the evidence How to validate assessment tools Australia relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: 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?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- 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 criteria is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Mind the Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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.

All or Nothing Competence

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

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or trainers.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for assessors to accurately assess student competence.

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.