{Assessment Validation for the Vocational Schools across Australia A Step-by-Step Guide

{Assessment Validation for the Vocational Schools across Australia A Step-by-Step Guide

Blog Article

Introduction

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage many obligations after becoming registered, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple posts, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the assessment process.

Essentially, assessment validation 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, 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 standards require two types of validation. The initial type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments follow the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will discuss the first type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the rule, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new materials immediately to verify they are appropriate for students.

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

- Amend your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Identify 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.

What Training Products Need Validation?

Note that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate materials for each subject unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: more info Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions 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 benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and forms created separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and comply with subject requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.

Principles of Assessment

- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks 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 required performance evidence asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Common Pitfalls

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-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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.

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 not compliant.

Be Specific!

Each assessment item 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 baffle students or assessors.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors 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 proactive and compliant approach.

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