{Assessment Validation Process for the Vocational Education Bodies across Australia An In-Depth Guide

{Assessment Validation Process for the Vocational Education Bodies across Australia An In-Depth Guide

Blog Article

Assessment Validation Overview

Registered Training Organisations are responsible for multiple tasks upon registration, such as annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.

Primarily, assessment review is dedicated to 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 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 regulations specify two types of validation. The primary type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments adhere 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.

What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the primary part of the clause, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the implementation, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Check new resources as soon as possible to ensure they are suitable for student use.

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

- Enhance your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Examine your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks 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 verify if instructions for assessors are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and templates developed separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality here of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in 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
- 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

Frequent Errors

Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), 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 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 is not sufficient.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must cover all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is out of compliance.

Be Specific!

Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not baffle students or evaluators.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge 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 preventative and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the principles of assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.